NEW DELHI: The Americans have upstaged the Europeans yet again in the tussle for the lucrative Indian defence market. The heart of Indian Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), finally on its way to becoming operational after 27 long years, will be American rather than European.
The defence ministry on Thursday announced General Electric’s F-414 engines have been selected over its rival Eurojet Turbo GmbH’s EJ-200 engines, after a bitter race over last two years, to power the Tejas Mark-II version.
While initial contract will be for 99 engines for over $650 million, the option for 49 more engines could be exercised later. Eight engines will be bought off-the-shelf, while other 91 will be manufactured in India under transfer of technology.
The indigenous LCA programme, under which IAF “hopes” to have first Tejas Mark-I squadron somewhat operational by May 2011, has no overt connection with the ongoing final selection process for the gigantic $10.4-billion project to acquire 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for IAF.
But tongues have begun to wag that selection of GE engines for LCA brightens prospects of American F/A-18 ‘Super Hornet’, as also Swedish Gripen, over Eurofighter in MMRCA race. It would make much better economic and logistical sense to have similar engines powering both LCA and MMRCA.
GE chairperson and CEO Jeffrey R Immelt met PM Manmohan Singh just a few days ago. The American multi-national conglomerate is also into making nuclear power generation equipment, which it hopes to sell to India.
