Lockheed Martin's F-21 Offers India Formidable WarTech: Dr Lall

F-21 is Beyond F-16 Block 70 in Capability

- Gulshan Luthra & Shweta Sehgal

NEW DELHI. Lockheed Martin (LM) says that its India-specific F-21 aircraft being offered for the Indian Air Force (IAF) will have a formidable Electronic Warfare (EW) and Air-to-Air Missile (AAM) capability to enable a combat pilot engage multiple aerial targets.

Dr Vivek Lall, Vice President Strategy and Business Development for the company, told India Strategic in an interview that the F-21 is proposed only for IAF, and that the aircraft goes much beyond the F-16 Block 70 now under production for some countries. IAF has its own EW specifications and “F-21 is Beyond Block 70 also because it is designed to carry 40 per cent more AAMs on its Triple Missile Launcher Adapters than the Block 70.”

BUDGET

In terms of budget, which should be a concern for any buyer, he observed: “The F-21 will also be cheaper by 30 to 40 per cent in life cycle costs than aircraft in the competition which is again another huge, significant advantage.” That should mean more Beyond the Visual Range (BVR) missiles, or even those for Close Combat missile (CCM), if ever required.

“Whether you are talking about battlefields or budgets, the F-21 is the clear choice for India,” he said adding: “ Simply put, the F-21 goes further, faster, and stays longer” on station than any other aircraft in the competition, and all at the most optimal Life Cycle Cost…. The aircraft meets all the IAF requirements as stipulated in its Request for Information (RFI) and some queries which have been replied to.”