R Krishna Das
If the participation of F-35 stealth fighter jets and B-1B Lancer heavy bombers at Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru are any indication, United States (US) is desperately eyeing to expand its base in the Indian defence market.
With the active involvement in the show, Washington demonstrated it gives importance to its strategic partnership with New Delhi. The US push to tap the Indian defence market can also be gauged by the presence of majors in large number at the ongoing Aero India 2023. This is reported to be the largest-ever US delegation to participate in Asia’s biggest military aviation exhibition, which started on February 13 and concludes on February 17.
According to defence experts, Russia is engaged in war with Ukraine for almost a year now and the US finds it a golden opportunity to aggressively explore the opportunities to break Moscow’s dominance in the Indian defence market. About 70 per cent of the Indian military’s weaponry is Russian. Though the US has gradually increased its presence over the past decade, Washington understands that there is still large room for business expansion.
Appearing on the second day of the show, the US Air Force’s F-35 stealth fighter jet stole the show with its maiden presence in India. The US Air Force’s latest fifth-generation fighters—the stealth, supersonic, multirole F-35A Lightning II and F-35A Joint Strike Fighter—made their first appearance at Aero India. The B-1B Lancer, a supersonic heavy-bomber, is capable of carrying out missions worldwide from its bases in the US as well as from forward deployed locations. It carries the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the US Air Force and is considered the backbone of America’s long-range bomber force.
Both the planes had made a journey from their temporary duty location at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. However, the team impressed military aviation enthusiasts with a demo of the jet’s aerial capabilities.
The US is however silent about whether it has offered New Delhi the F-35. India is developing its own stealth fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), after the failure of its programme with Russia to develop a fifth-generation fighter jet.
