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MUMBAI: The 69-year-old chairman of India's Tata group, Ratan Tata — recently in the news for snapping up Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus for $12 billion — will fly a fighter jet at an air show in Bangalore this week.
Tata, a licensed pilot who occasionally flies the company plane, was invited by U.S. defence contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. to fly an F-16 combat aircraft at the air show from Feb. 7-11, a Tata spokesman said.
“He is excited and looking forward to it,” he said.
Tata, 69, will be accompanied by a Lockheed test pilot, local newspapers said.
Lockheed is competing for a multi-billion dollar defence order in India.
The Indian Air Force has announced plans to buy 126 multi-role fighters for an estimated $9 billion — one of the biggest global military jet purchases in recent times — to modernise a fleet that consists mostly of Russian MiGs.
