India okays biggest deal with US for C-17s at $4.1 bn

[cosmicone]

Source: Times of India

NEW DELHI: Marking the biggest defence deal between India and the US, government on Monday gave a green signal to procurement of 10 C-17 heavy-lift military aircraft at a cost of $4.1 billion, weeks after America lost out in the bid for 126 fighter deal.

Under the deal, cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the planes would be bought through the government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route, defence ministry officials said.

As per the proposed agreement, the US defence major Boeing, the manufacturer of the aircraft, will have to invest 30 per cent of the contract amount for setting up defence facilities in India, officials said.

The procurement involves offsets clause, under which a vendor bagging a defence deal worth over Rs 300 crore has to reinvest at least 30 per cent of the deal amount in Indian defence, homeland security or civilian aerospace sectors.

Read more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/India-okays-biggest-deal-with-US-for-C-17s-at-41-bn/articleshow/8749542.cms

[iwishiwas]

1. the good ol us of a, Exporting more weapons. Yup, that is our signature!!

[Angleae]

7. How is this "weapons"?

Would it be any different if the Indian military bought 777s.

[dmallind]

10. No military category ranks higher than 57th on US exports by value. NT

[dmallind]

14. That was 2009 figures - last year 63rd!! nt

[Vinee]

11. If they didn't buy them from us, they would just buy them from Russia.

and it's not like the C17 even has guns on it. It's just for transporting stuff. Think of it as a semi truck that flies. Furthermore, it is important that we maintain a halfways balanced trade relationship with India and Pakistan rather than be seen as favoring one over the other. This deal is nothing but good news.

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[bongbong]

3. The future

We'll get to see how US-sourced military aircraft supplied to Pakistan do against US-sourced military aircraft sold to India.

Of course it won't be the first time. A few years ago we got to watch Iran F-14s (with October Surprise spare parts) go up against Iraq F-14s. Kinda like how Krupp would sell generation 1.0 cannons to Germany's enemies during the 19th century, keeping generation 2.0 reserved for Germany itself.

[friendly_iconoclast]

6. It won't be these planes. These are transports.

It will instead be Rafales or Eurofighters vs. F-16s

[Spider Jerusalem]

9. Money says that this contract was by way of soothing ruffled American feathers...

after India opted not to select the F16 as their next air force fighter.

[arbusto_baboso]

17. Uh, IRAQ never had F-14s

That was only Iran. Go back over your sources.

[bongbong]

18. Thanks

Thanks for the correction. I suppose it makes a lot of difference to some folks about the exact model of American air armament, but any of them will kill lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of people. So they kind of all blur together for me.

[octothorpe]

19. Which fighter aircraft do you think the US gave to Iraq?

Iraq had either Soviet or French fighter aircraft. I think they may have had some light helicopters from the US though. So if you're going to point fingers are the arms suppliers, then you might as well point them at the other ones too. Just to be clear, I'm not denying that US didn't fund and supply both sides. I'm just pointing out the error in saying the US provided the Iraqis with fighter jets. When pointing out the flaws of US foreign policy, it's best to have everything as accurate as possible, aye? No sense in giving the "US does no wrong" crowd something to quickly point out as wrong.

Anyway, I could be wrong about this, but I don't think I am.

[arbusto_baboso]

21. You're not wrong.

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. Note from US to sold aircraft: "We'll be seeing ya later!"

[Hulk]

5. Our only exports of value are military weapons and jets....

"weapons of war". It's what we export. It's pretty much ALL we export of any real value. We make nothing else in this country to export...so we export weapons of war and jets....fighters, tankers, transports...and a handful of passenger jets.

Welcome to the pathetic Amerikkka, 2011.

[Vinee]

12. we export a lot of agricultural products too actually

[dmallind]

15. Top 10 follow

(22090) Civilian aircraft, engines, equipment, and parts
(21320) Semiconductors
(40100) Pharmaceutical preparations
(21180) Industrial machines, other
(30230) Other parts and accessories of vehicles
(30000) Passenger cars, new and used
(12540) Chemicals-organic
(11120) Petroleum products, other
(12500) Plastic materials
(11110) Fuel oil


And yes before you ask military aircraft, vehicles and machines have their own categories not lumped in the above.

[dmallind]

13. Absolutely false, and provably so.

Tell me how far down the first weapons related item is......

http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/enduse/exports/c0000.html

[pampango]

8. Great. Rather sell $4 billion of planes than of toys or cheap stuff. Better paying jobs. n/t

[Uncle Joe]

16. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, cosmicone.

[Supply Side Jesus]

20. we gettin some Mangos for this?

:7