Lockheed Martin to Partner Tata Advanced Systems for Producing F-21

Michael Kelley, Vice President – India for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Technique and Enterprise Growth and Brett Medlin, the F-21 India Marketing campaign head, were in India for conferences with the Indian authorities and the IAF on the multibillion deal that is anticipated to see the IAF procure 114 medium multi-role fight plane as reported in the media on August 12, 2021. As per Lockheed Martin, the F-21 is specifically configured for the IAF and enables unmatched ‘Make in India’ Industrial Opportunities read Atamnirbhar Mission. The F-21 demonstrates Lockheed Martin’s commitment to delivering an advanced, scalable fighter aircraft to the IAF that provides unrivalled industrial opportunities and accelerates closer India-US cooperation on advanced technologies. The F-21 features numerous India-specific changes – inside and out – tailored to meet the IAF’s requirements. Innovative technologies derived from Lockheed Martin’s F-22 and F-35 – the world’s only two operational fifth Generation fighters – strengthen India’s path to an advanced airpower future. The company has also stated that they will not export F-21 to any other country.

Representatives of Lockheed Martin also stated they had been open to setting up an upkeep, restore and MRO facility for its F-21 in India. Lockheed which is providing the F-21, is in competition with Boeing’s F-18, Swedish SAAB’s Gripen, Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, EADS’ Eurofighter Hurricane and Russia’s United Plane Company MiG-35.