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| Lockheed said the F-21 will include technology from its stealthy 5th-generation jets, the F-22 and F-35. (Lockheed Martin) |
International Military - The F-21 is one of Lockheed Martin's special fighter jet projects for India only. Quoted from lockheedmartin.com, Lockheed Martin and Tata will produce the F-21 in India and for India. From this opportunity, the manufacture of the F-21 in India has a great opportunity for technology transfer.
Not only technology transfer, but also the independent manufacture of the F-21 in India. "The company has stated that if the Indian Air Force (IAF) ordered 114 jets worth around USD 18 billion under MMRCA 2.0," explained eurasiantimes.com. From this explanation, the cost of making 114 F-21 units is around USD 18 billion and is very expensive.
Besides being expensive, it turns out that there are special rules that are certainly quite restraining from the US regarding the F-21 for India. "Lockheed has agreed to manufacture the aircraft in India with the Tata group, and has committed not to sell the F-21 to any other country, provided billions of dollars' worth of sales are guaranteed," eurasiantimes.com added.
From this explanation, the sale of billions of dollars is guaranteed to be one of the special rules that must be agreed upon if the F-21 for India is realized. Plus if the F-21 specifically for India is not intended for sale (export). With the prohibition of this rule, it is burdensome for India in the country's foreign exchange income.
As a result, the agreement to manufacture the F-21 is quite one-sided and in favor of the US alone. Even though India is splashed with technology transfers, the ban on the sale of the F-21 is a minus. Apart from that, if there is an explanation if the F-21 is an upgraded version of the F-16. "Although the F-21 is an upgraded version of the F-16, it has many of the same features as the F-16V," wrote eurasiantimes.com.
From this explanation, the sophistication of the F-21 and F-16 Viper is claimed to be the same. Although the sophistication is the same, the prestige of the F-21 seems to be clearly more superior. Because there are allegations if the F-21 has 2 refueling systems. Starting from the probe drogue and boom drogue in the F-21 as its flagship refueling technique.
Not to mention the weapons systems that can be carried on the F-21 of course very much, it is clear in the information that the F-21 can carry up to 16 air-to-air missiles. As a result, ground attack guided bombs can also be carried by the F-21 in large numbers. Moreover, the F-21 is capable of carrying Harpoon anti-ship missiles as a fulcrum.
Moreover, the F-21 is an unprecedented Make in India opportunity. With this, the F-21 combines the strengths of Lockheed Martin and India's Tata. To that end the F-21 provides India's main industrial home. As a result, the F-21 can provide a historic win for the US and India in the manufacture of 4.5 generation fighter jets.
The F-21 can later strengthen and develop Lockheed Martin's relationship with India. For this reason, the quality of the F-21 has superior technology of dominant quality. It should be noted that the F-21 presents opportunities especially for Indian companies of all sizes. Including Micro, Small, & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can be splashed by the manufacture of the F-21.
As a result, the impact of making the F-21 could create thousands of new jobs for Indian industry. For that, we are just waiting for further information regarding the fix whether or not the F-21 is made. If it is taken by India, the contract for the F-21 project will become a fairly large program. Especially for India's local defense industry will be able to develop further about the manufacture of the F-21.
In addition, there is also an issue that if the F-21 is realized it will replace old fighter jets such as the MiG-21 Bison. Not only MiG-21, but Jaguar can be replaced with F-21. And the F-21 can later become a fighter jet that can match Pakistan's F-16. Because the superior technology of the F-21 is even more superior.