India- U.S. F‑35 Deal Still at Proposal Stage

The Indian government confirmed on Friday that there has been no official conversation on the purchase of F-35 combat fighter jets from the United States. This was made after a question was posed in the Lok Sabha.

In reply to the query, Minister of State Kirti Vardhan Singh replied, "No formal discussions have been held as yet on this issue." This was in response to a question put by MP Balwant Baswant Wankhade, who asked if any formal proposal had been received from the US for the sale of F-35 fighter jets to India.

Singh made mention of a joint statement issued in February this year by India and the US, where it was stated that Washington "will conduct a review of its policy on exporting fifth generation fighters (like the F-35) and undersea systems to India."

That revelation had drawn attention after a senior-level trip by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United States, when former US President Donald Trump announced that his government was making efforts in moving the delivery of these advanced aircraft.

Beginning this year, we will be increasing sales of military equipment to India by many billions of dollars. We are also opening the door to eventually sell India the F-35 stealth fighter," Trump had said during a joint media appearance with Modi at the White House.

But only weeks thereafter in March, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, dismissed the chances of India looking at the F-35. He said there had been no proposal from the US and the Indian Air Force had not discussed the aircraft for induction.

Adding to the ambiguity, a report by Bloomberg on Thursday indicated that India had made known its lack of interest in acquiring the F-35s. The report came on the same day as President Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs and penalties on Indian goods — measures he justified citing India's continued defense and energy dealings with Russia.

So far, there has been no confirmation of the Bloomberg report by either the Indian or American government.

The US defense contractor Lockheed Martin produces the F-35 Lightning II, which is commonly considered to be one of the world's most advanced multirole combat aircraft in use today. There are three versions of the aircraft: the F-35A, which is designed for conventional takeoff and landing; the F-35B, which is capable of short takeoffs and vertical landings; and the F-35C, which is optimized for use from aircraft carriers.