'F-16IN aircrafts tailored to meet IAF's needs'

As the race for bagging the US$ 10-billion Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft order from India hots up, US aerospace major Lockheed Martin raised its sales pitch on Monday saying its fighter plane, F-16IN, is tailored exclusively to meet the Indian Air Force's requirements.

"The F-16IN is the right choice for the Indian Air Force and is ready for integration to India's infrastructure and operations now," Jack Giese, Lockheed's International Communication Manager, told media-persons in Bengaluru.

The IAF had recently conducted flight evaluation and performance trials in Bangalore for six foreign defence firms, including Lockheed Martin's F-16IN Super Viper, vying to bag the order for 126 MMRCAs.

The Super Viper has the most advanced technologies and capabilities available today on the international market, including the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, net-centric warfare capability, advanced survivability features, a modern all-digital glass cockpit, Jim Benson Hedge, the pilot who has 2000 hrs of flying the F-16, said.

The radar is a revolutionary all-weather precision targeting sensor with ultra-high resolution synthetic aperture mapping and automatic terrain following and air to air tracking of multiple targets, the company said.

Benson said the fighter not only meets the IAF requirements but also exceeds some of them. "It gives a pilot more time to make the best decisions" On the chances of winning the order, Jack said "We are extremely confident of our product".