India mulling over US F-16, F-18 proposal
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
New Delhi, April 4, IRNA
India-US
New Delhi-based Times News Network Monday reported that India's decision over the US offer of selling F-16 and F-18 fighter jets to the Indian Air Force would be determined by "hard-nosed geopolitical considerations" and the opinion of the Indian Air Force which so far has flown Russian and other European fighter jets.
The main shaft of light on this issue was shed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the last joint conference of the top leadership of the Indian armed forces.
"As our defense purchases are large and substantial, we must leverage them to serve the largest political and diplomatic ends," Singh said.
The Indian Air Force has in the meanwhile made known that it was more comfortable with topline French-made Mirage 2000-V.
The Indian Air Force, the report said, is in the market looking for 126 multi-role combat aircraft in a deal which could be worth a massive five billion US dollars.
The report, however, cited sources who indicated that the decision would in the final analysis depend on the fliers of the high-tech jets, the Indian Air Force before deciding on the US offer.
There is another lobby in the Indian government that supports acquisition of the F-16 and F-18 jets citing the much larger deal on civilian nuclear energy that has been promised by the US.
The same lobby also thinks that the deal could actually become useful to get India the required recognition as a nuclear power.
The Indian government is careful about the prospect of the US asking its nuclear facilities under safeguards.
India is totally against any external attempts to inspect its nuclear facilities and any negotiation that is aimed at opening its N-facilities to external inspection would in all possibilities not be entertained by the Indian government.
The Indian Air Force has already sounded its negative opinion over F-18s.
The force's top brass found the aircraft to be too heavy for its expertise and out of sync with their requirements.
On the other hand, there is the other part in the debate that is being led by India's supporters in the Washington DC who are in favor of engaging India in negotiations over the deal as it is one of the emerging great powers in world politics.
The Indian Air Force, the main actor in the play, has already made it known that it is not really in favor of the F-16 jets as the deal would require its pilots to train afresh and acquire new
infrastructure.
It also fears that the concomitants might actually lead to a logistical nightmare.
The choice of the Indian Air Force was underlined by the decision of the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security last week when it cleared a fresh acquisition of 12 Mirage 2000-Vs from Qatar.
2160/2325/1432
::IRNA No.015 04/04/2005 12:24 --End
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