Insta
Defence Outsourcing: Lockheed Martin Plans To Make Hyderabad Facility Sole Supplier Of F-16 Wings Worldwide
An F-16C Fighter Jet (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
US-based aerospace and defence manufacturing behemoth Lockheed Martin has announced plans to begin production of the wings of the F-16 fighter jet from a facility it has in Hyderabad, reports Reuters.
The production of the wings will be carried out in a joint venture with Indian firm Tata Advanced Systems. This decision comes at a time when Lockheed Martin is competing with a number of international firms for a $15 billion contract to produce 114 combat jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Vice president of Strategy and Business Development for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Vivek Lall revealed that the company in the future plans to supply the wings for all the F-16s it produces worldwide with wings manufactured in the Hyderabad facility.
"The first wing prototype is being built now. The expectation is we will begin supplying by next year sometime, this will be the sole facility for future F-16 wing production," Lall said.
The Hyderabad facility is in fact already active in manufacturing the empennage of Lockheed’s C-130J transport plane.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest
