American Aerospace firm Lockheed Martin has offered to build its flagship fighter jet F-16 in India as PM Modi looks to modernise the Air Force's ageing fleet of fighter jets. Phil Shaw, CEO of Lockheed's Indian unit, said in an interview yesterday that Lockheed Chairman Marillyn Hewson made the offer to PM Narendra Modi last September. He said that both India & US Governments are negotiating the deal currently. Randall Howard, head of F-16 business development, said that Lockheed is anxious to know the requirements of the Indian Air Force. Over a 3rd of India's jets are 40 years old and need to be replaced. Modi is also planning to turn India from the world's biggest weapons importer into a global hub for defense manufacturing.
