C-17 deal with India could create 30,000 jobs in US: Blake

[Vehl]

WASHINGTON: USD 4.4 billion deal of C-17 Globemaster aircraft with India has the potential to create as many as 30,000 jobs in America, a top US official has said.

"India and the US are working toward finalising an agreement for Indian Air Force to acquire ten C-17 Globemaster aircraft. This USD 4.4 billion deal could potentially create up to 30,000 jobs in the US," Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake said at the 27th Annual Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture at San Diego State University in California.

Often referred to as the 'workhorse of US military', these transport aircraft will boost India's strategic airlift capabilities, improving its ability to respond to military and humanitarian crises in India and around the globe, he added.

"This deal could potentially create up to 30,000 jobs in the US and would be particularly important for Southern California: the assembly line for these colossal aircraft is located in Long Beach, just a mere 80 miles up the freeway," Blake said in his address in San Diego, California.


As India emerges as a global player, it seeks to build a 21 st century military with the latest cutting-edge technology, he said, adding instead of relying on its historical partner Russia for hardware, it has started to look to the US, and San Diego-based companies are a key component.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/C-17-deal-with-India-could-create-30000-jobs-in-US-Blake/articleshow/6669983.cms

PS:

Related news
India, America Sign a 2.1 Billion Deal for 8 (+1 Billion in the offing for 4 more) for the new P8 Poseidon Maritime surveillance aircraft

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/indias-navy-holding-maritime-patrol-aircraft-competition-updated-01991/

Last year India signed a 600 Million deal with the US for c 130 J Hercules aircraft

[msongs]

1. so long as the US is not buying anymore or paying for them eh? nt

[Vehl]

2. These orders keep some of the production lines still running.

If I rem correctly the c 130 orders from India last year were the only ones that kept the c130 production line open.


In 2009 The US-India Trade deficit was 4.8 Billion
US exported 16.4 and imported 21.2


I bet with these deals there would be a net Surplus of a few Billion this time around.
I'm all for fair trade and am glad that India is buying as much stuff from America as its selling.
:toast:

[petronius]

3. That would be great, but why only 10? C'mon, India, you're a big country,

how about 100 C-17s? :)

Boeing seems to be closing a lot of facilities around LA and OC lately, it would help keep a bunch of threatened jobs if LB got a new lease on life...

[Vehl]

4. 100? india cant afford that much, but India definitly is buying more US Aircraft/weapons

Already people are scratching their heads as to why the C 17 was chosen over the Russian ll-76 which India has been using for a long time now (and is but a fraction of the c 17s cost). But the main reason was the advanced avionics, and the obvious yet oft never mentioned reason of real-politik.

However, if i rem correctly the Navy chief made a statement that they might buy another 12 p8i Poseidon if they like the 8 they have ordered.


I'm certain that when the IAF starts using the C17s, they might want to order some more :)

Evidently India Slowly moving away from the Cold war era sole-military relationship with Russia and is diversifying, especially buying more and more from America.

There is a 10 Bil competition going on in India for 126 multiRole Aircraft, with the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet,Dassault Rafale,Eurofighter Typhoon,F-16IN Super Viper,Mikoyan MiG-35 and the Saab Gripen NG Competing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_MRCA_competition

However, If America is willing to enter the F 35 into the competition, It's a sure fire win. As of now, the F18/16s don't have much of a chance against the Stiff European competition. One of the main reasons India was/is wary of buying American weapons/aircraft was the real fear that in the event of war/diplomatic duels India could be embargoed. However, recently these fears are somewhat allayed by the fact that these agreements have something to the effect of not being subject to embargo.

But what is certain is that America would definitely see a larger share of India's purchases in the coming years.

:)

[pampango]

5. That's good news, particulary for SoCal which could use it. n/t

[unhappycamper]

6. Since Boeing is no longer capable of building civilian aircraft, the C-17 and the F/A-18 and MV-22

production lines keep the lights on.

Although I would really wish they could build the 787 Dreamliner rather than war toys.

[Angleae]

8. No longer capable?

So they build no 737s, 747s, 767s, or 777s?

[unhappycamper]

9. Have you seen any 787s flight testing lately? n/t

Boeing's making their bucks off the military tit.

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. Only 6 of them.

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1455

Your contention that Boeing only makes military aircraft these days is utter claptrap.

Sure, the 787 has had delays, but so did the Airbus 380. Any new aircraft, particularly aircraft of new design have teething problems.

"Have you seen any 787's flight testing lately?"


Yeah. They have SIX of them flight testing.

http://787flighttest.com/

If you think Boeing is having trouble with the 787, you should look into how much of a problem Airbus has had putting out a competitor to the C130, they call it the A-400M

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbus_A400M

Their first delivery has been postponed numerous times and is 3 years behind the original promises.

[itsrobert]

12. I try to avoid Airbus, they are plastic, inferior planes

Boeing has years of history.

[A HERETIC I AM]

13. "If it ain't Boeing, I ain't going" n/t

[unhappycamper]

7. And India is also looking for $10 billion dollars worth of go fast hardware:

India's fighter-jet program soars past Japan's
By Trefor Moss
Oct 5, 2010

India and Japan are both in the process of procuring a new frontline fighter aircraft that will see them through to the middle of this century. They may even end up buying the same airplane. That, however, is where the similarity ends.

The circumstances in which the two countries are conducting their fighter procurements could hardly be more different. A buoyant India has breezed into the marketplace, while Japan still hovers unsurely by the gate, dithering over what it's actually come here to buy. The nub of the difference is that the Indian selection is not constrained by politics - they have a free hand with which to buy the best plane under the best possible terms. The Japanese decision, by contrast, is severely circumscribed by political considerations, both domestic and international.

The plane-builders of the world have converged on India like love-struck suitors; the object of their desire is a US$10 billion contract for 126 planes, with possibly more to follow, as well as favored access to more of the $80 billion that India will spend on defense kit in the next five years.

So often dysfunctional in its approach to defense procurement, India has got this one right. The Indian Air Force set out a clear vision of its requirement: a medium multirole fighter aircraft (MMRCA) that can match anything flying today bar the US's stealthy F-22 Raptor. This plane will provide a capable deterrent against Chinese and Pakistani threats until the more advanced "fifth-generation" fighter being jointly developed with Russia is ready from 2020 onwards.

Suppliers respond to this kind of customer clarity, and six of them entered the race, each desperate to secure what is the biggest defense contract currently on offer anywhere. This has given the Indians exceptional bargaining power, not least because they have made it abundantly clear that all six contenders have a genuine chance of winning - if they are willing to meet New Delhi's demanding conditions.



unhappycamper comment: Pulling back the curtain may have an impact on the F-22s combat debut.

[Vehl]

14. Yes, the MMRCA deal

an interesting piece of info about the ongoing examination process is that the majority of the contestants failed the (in)famous "Leh test".

The Indian "Leh Test" is one that tests that Abilities of Aircraft by performing tests on one of the Airbases in Leh.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leh

Leh is at an altitude of 3524 meters (11,562 ft). Aircraft operating/taking off from this altitudes have to overcome a multitude of problems, especially due to the very Thin Air as well as very low temperatures( as low as -30 C).

Four MMRCA Contenders Fail Leh Trials!

It's the latest tidbit on India's $12-billion Medium Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition that's doing the rounds (and it was first reported by The Hindu on Tuesday). Four of the contenders that underwent cold-weather evaluation trials at Leh didn't meet performance requirements.

OK, major understatement. Four of the contenders bit dust in Leh. Read that again: four aircraft. That's huge. It's still unclear which part of the Leh test the four aircraft types failed at, though it is quite clear that it was either the switch off/on after landing, or the take-off with meaningful combat load at that altitude. The only thing that appears true is that four aircraft failed the trial -- it is totally anyone's guess which these are.

http://livefist.blogspot.com/2010/03/four-mmrca-contenders-fail-leh-trials.html

[AdHocSolver]

10. The airplanes India buys will be labeled "Assembled in USA from parts made in China".

The corporations outsource the major part of production of civilian goods to slave wage countries such as China as they convert the U.S. to an economy that is sustained almost exclusively by the production of war materiel.

Then the corporations maintain the "loyalty" and "gratitude" of the middle class for "keeping" 30,000 jobs here while, at the same time, the corporations have shipped millions of jobs in the civilian sector to low wage foreign countries.

What a deal!

[Vehl]

15. C-17 A Carefully Considered Choice: IAF Chief

There's been a healthy measure of skepticism recently about India's decision to buy 10 Boeing C-17 Globemaster-III heavylift transports from the US. Arguments against the purchase have ranged from questioning the need for such aircraft to calling attention to the huge acquisition cost, to suspicion about the speed from interest to potential contract conclusion, likely to take place when President Barack Obama is in Delhi later this year.

Well, for what it was worth, the Indian Air Force chief was asked today if the soon to be concluded C-17 deal was simply another piece of business thrown Washington's way in line with India's new strategic imperatives. Air Chief Naik replied, "A great amount of thought and planning has gone into our decision to obtain the C-17. My team did a detailed study about what was available and what capabilities were out there. There were no compulsions. We had requirements that dictated a certain amount of lift capacity and the ability to operate from short runways. The C-17 turned out to be the only aircraft in the global market that met both requirements. The other heavylift types, with six or eight engines, cannot function from short runways, and that was a basic requirement."

U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. DeNoris Mickle: Airmen from the 14th Airlift Squadron fly over South Carolina's beaches from Joint Base Charleston, S.C., as a Boeing-built C-17 Globemaster III sheds a shadow on the water below

[Vehl]

16. Russia bags a Huge 25 Billion Joint Project Deal for 250 Fifth generation stealth fighters

Seems like Russia bagged the biggest ever Indian deal for 250 Pafka/FGFA Aircraft

NEW DELHI: India will eventually spend over $25 billion to induct 250 advanced stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), on way to being co-developed with Russia, in what will be the country's biggest-ever defence project.

With a potent mix of super-manoeuvrability and supersonic cruising ability, long-range strike and high-endurance air defence capabilities, each FGFA will cost upwards of Rs 450 crore or around $100 million.

This will be in addition to the huge investment to be made in co-developing FGFA with cash-strapped Russia, as also the huge infrastructure required to base, operate and maintain such jets in India.

"We are looking to induct 200 to 250 FGFA in phases from 2017 onwards,'' confirmed IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik on Monday. As reported by TOI earlier, New Delhi and Moscow are looking to ink the FGFA preliminary design contract when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev comes visiting here in December.

Though the Indian FGFA will based on the Russian Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA, which flew for the first time this January at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur facility in Siberia, it will be built to IAF's specifications. It's already being touted as superior to the American F/A-22 `Raptor', the world's only operational FGFA as of now.

ACM Naik said the 30-tonne FGFA will be a "swing-role fighter, with very advanced avionics, stealth to increase survivability, enhanced lethality, 360 degree situational awareness, smart weapons, data-links, high-end mission computers'' and the like.

Along with 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft, which India plans to acquire in a $10.4 billion project, 270 Sukhoi-30MKIs contracted from Russia for around $12 billion and 120 indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, the FGFA will be the mainstay of India's air combat fleet for the foreseeable future.

Even as the Army revises its war doctrine to factor in the worst-case scenario of a simultaneous two-front war with Pakistan and China, is IAF also preparing for the same?

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-to-spend-over-25-billion-to-induct-250-5th-gen-stealth-fighters/articleshow/6685002.cms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi/HAL_FGFA


Its interesting to note that the IAF does not want the Russian version of the PakFa but an Indian version that will have Indian,American, French and Israeli Avionics.


Russians always made superior airframes, the West always had the Edge on avionics.
The main difference between the Russian Pakfa and its Indian FGFA derivative, apart from the Avionics would be that the Indian FGFA will be a two seater, as opposed to the Russia PakFa. India Air force doctrine holds that two seat aircraft have an inherent advantage over their single seat cousins.


According to the reports, India will have a 50% stake on the manufacturing of both the Russian and Indian versions and would contribute to the development process in the area of Composites avionics and cockpit design. There have been quite a lot of such Joint ventured Between Russia and India in the recent years as cash strapped Russian development programs get Indian funding via Joint ventures. The recent Brahmos missile venture is a good example of this.


The Real reason that Russia got this deal is that this deals includes full TOT (transfer of technology, as do almost all Russian Deals with India).Maybe America could look for joint ventures with other nations. I bet there would be quite a few countries willing to fund Joint development/production projects in the US.