India, US finalise $5-bn defence pacts

WASHINGTON/MUMBAI - India and the US have reached agreements on two lucrative defence deals worth nearly $5 billion that will give employment to nearly 26,500 people in job-starved America.

According to a White House statement Saturday, US’ Boeing Company and the Indian Air Force have reached a preliminary agreement on the purchase of 10 C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft and are now in the process of finalizing the details of the sale.

The statement came hours after US President Barack Obama arrived in India for a four-day visit during which the two countries are expected to finalise many trade pacts.

The statement said once all the heavy transport aircraft have been delivered, the IAF will be the owner and operator of the largest fleet of C-17s outside of the US.

“Each C-17 supports 650 suppliers across 44 US states and that this order will support Boeings C-17 production facility in Long Beach, California, for an entire year. This transaction is valued at approximately $4.1 billion, all of which is US export content, supporting an estimated 22,160 jobs, the statement said.

India has also declared the lowest bidder and selected the US-based General Electric Company for a contract to provide the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency with 107 F414 engines to be installed on the indigeniously produced Tejas light combat aircraft.

Upon finalizing the contract, General Electric will be positioned to export almost one billion dollars in high technology aerospace products. This transaction is tentatively valued at approximately $822 million, all of which is US export content, supporting an estimated 4,440 jobs, the statement said.