Confirming a thread that has long been speculated upon in Indian defence circles, Boeing today confirmed to FlightGlobal’s Asia Managing Editor Greg Waldron that the company was seeking clearance from the U.S. Government to make a formal offer of the F-15EX fighter to India. This would be for an upcoming contest in which India is looking to build at least 110 fighters in country as part of a ‘Make in India’ effort. Boeing’s F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet, a long-standing contender for Indian fighter requirements, has already been pitched by Boeing as part of the 110 jet contest.
The FlightGlobal piece quotes a Boeing executive as saying, “While awaiting further definition on the Indian air force’s requirements, we have requested a license for the F-15 so that we’re ready to share the full spectrum of potential solutions across our fighter portfolio when appropriate. We continue to offer the F/A-18 Super Hornet to both the Indian navy and Indian air force, and our F-15 is experiencing a resurgence in interest in the US and around the world.”
The Indian government is expected to detail next steps in the ambitious fighter buy-and-build project later this year. If Boeing receives clearance to add the F-15EX to the mix, the list of prospective contenders would swell to 8: apart from the two Boeing jets, the Indian government will also be considering the Rafale, Lockheed Martin F-21, Eurofighter Typhoon, Gripen E, MiG-35 and Su-35.
The F-15EX is the latest iteration of the highly successful Eagle program, with a raft of improvements.
Boeing’s tryst with the Indian fighter acquisition program began in the mid-2000s when the F/A-18 became a surprise entrant into the then M-MRCA (medium multirole combat aircraft) contest — an endeavour that spiralled into oblivion and finally saw the Indian government contract for a fraction of the intended 126 jets and settle for 36 French Rafales. The F/A-18 has hovered around India’s twisting and turning acquisition program, and now sees itself as a frontrunner for both the Indian Air Force’s 110 jet build program as well as the Indian Navy’s hunt for 57 new generation carrier deck fighters.
The F-15EX pitch is, in many ways, unsurprising. The F-15 program is currently headed by Pratyush Kumar, who took over the reins of the program after a very successful stint as Boeing’s country head in India. Under Kumar, Boeing scored a list of significant contracts for military aircraft, including the AH-64E Apache, CH-47F Chinook, C-17 and P-8I.
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