Amid Confusion Over Make-In-India For F-16s, Defence Minister Weighs In

Foreign aircraft manufacturers offering to make combat jets in India will have to win approval from their governments, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said, in a measure aimed at ensuring projects are not affected due to policy flip-flops.

These comments come at a time when US firm Lockheed Martin has said the new administration under President Donald Trump may want to take a “fresh look” at its proposal to move production of its F-16 combat jets to India. The former US government led by Barack Obama had supported the plan.

There are concerns that a veto on making the F-16 in India would not only hit Lockheed, but also threaten other military contracts to come up in India for US firms such as Boeing, Northrop and Raytheon.