Is our government under pressure to sign a Big Arm deal with Europe or America?

WASHINGTON - India’s choice of European warplanes in an $11 billion competition to update its combat fleet was a setback for US aerospace companies, but it is not game over for the Americans. 

 Joel Johnson, an international aerospace trade expert, said India may have opted for a European fighter because of a history of US sanctions tied to its nuclear program and because of technology transfer constraints.

They had been vying with European and Russian rivals to supply 126 fighters to India. A deal would have capped closer ties between the US and Indian militaries.

The decision shuts US companies out of one of the decade’s most hotly pursued arms deals, even as Washington expands strategic ties with India, partly as a hedge against China’s growing military clout.

Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group aerospace consultancy said a US win in the Indian fighter competition “would have been the linchpin of a strategic, military and economic relationship that would have benefited a lot of US companies.”

He said losing the contract was more of a strategic and political blow to the United States than an industrial one.

It was unclear why the Indian government short-listed the Eurofighter made by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, and France’s Rafale for the $11 billion contract. Boeing said in a statement it was requesting a “debrief” from the Indian Air Force and would then decide on “possible options.”

A person from the US industry with first-hand knowledge of Indian weapons purchases said big Indian arms programs of this type had a history of unraveling and going back to square one.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if this one were reopened for further evaluation,” he said.

The US companies are hoping for explanations that will let them better understand Indian processes and procedures with an eye to future competitions.

The United States is widely seen as having the technological edge to win Indian military contracts. About $50 billion worth are expected to be up for grabs in the next five years.

In the past three years, India agreed to buy some $10 billion in US military hardware, including six Lockheed C-130J military transport aircraft and eight long-range Boeing P-8 maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft.

Lockheed and Boeing, the Pentagon’s top suppliers, campaigned aggressively for the fighter order and vowed on Thursday to keep chasing the Indian market.

Boeing said it looked at India as “a long-term investment and a long-term partnership well beyond the fighter competition.”

Lockheed said it was in talks with India about supplying another six C-130Js, in addition to the first six that began to be delivered in February.