As India advances its Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) procurement programme, global aerospace giants are vying to secure a pivotal role in the Indian Air Force’s modernisation drive. Among the key contenders is Lockheed Martin, offering its F-21 fighter—an advanced, India-specific solution designed to enhance the country’s air combat capabilities.
To gain deeper insights into Lockheed Martin’s offering and strategic vision, Life of Soldiers conducted an exclusive interview with Jessica Koloini, Director, Business Development, Indo-Pacific Region, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.
In this conversation, Koloini discusses the F-21’s capabilities, its distinct advantages over competing platforms, and how it aligns with India’s operational requirements. She also highlights Lockheed Martin’s commitment to strengthening India’s aerospace ecosystem through industrial partnerships, technology transfer, and support for the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Kindly find the full discussion below:
- Can you elaborate on the specific enhancements made to the F-21 to meet the Indian Air Force’s operational requirements?
The F-21, Lockheed Martin’s offering for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) program, will advance the India-Lockheed Martin partnership in numerous ways. The F-21 is uniquely configured to meet IAF capability requirements. This program represents an opportunity to connect Indian industry to a USD $165 billion global sustainment market as well as deliver a robust production plan.
The F-21 is configured with the latest sensors and mission avionic systems that couple on-board and off-board data information into an effective, easy to manage combat situation display. Years of pilot-vehicle interface design — that Lockheed Martin has integrated into development of the data-intensive 5th Generation F-35 and F-22 platforms — will be incorporated into the F-21. Lockheed Martin has a long history of leveraging capabilities across platforms with an extremely high level of confidence in the maturity and performance of these 5th Generation capabilities.
Air combat today is all about assimilating data across multiple domains — effective sorting, presentation and yielding quick decisive action. Combat pilots need data presented clearly to swiftly decide and act as a cohesive force in a Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) environment. The strength of the F-21 comes from state-of-the-art sensor capability, data integration and exceptional pilot situational awareness.
In terms of 5th Generation technologies, the AESA radar is another example. The F-21’s AESA radar has detection ranges nearly double that of previous radar versions. An advanced cockpit with a Large Area Display will greatly enhance pilots’ situational awareness. Lockheed Martin’s Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS) is inherent in the F-21 as a lifesaving technology that automatically takes control of the aircraft to avoid ground impact. Auto GCAS is a vital resource and game-changing technology that has saved multiple pilots’ lives and aircraft.
- How does the F-21 integrate with existing Indian Air Force infrastructure and platforms to ensure seamless operations?
The F-21 is the perfect addition to India’s current fleet in terms of operational performance by providing a highly reliable single engine, low Life Cycle Cost platform at a Max Take-Off Weight. Additionally, the F-21 is truly a multirole fighter — meaning it can be configured for both air-to-air and/or air-to-ground missions. It includes Triple Missile Launcher Adapters enabling 40% more air-to-air weapons carriage for a maximum air-to-air weapons loadout of 10 missiles. This, along with the superior range / loiter time and the advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, allows the F-21 to have maximum staying power with the ability to execute first look, first shot, first kill in modern and future warfare environments.
- Could you provide details on the proposed ‘Make in India’ partnership with Tata Advanced Systems for the F-21?
Fighter Wing Production Paves the Path to the F-21
In May 2023, Lockheed Martin and Tata Group signed a contract to begin fighter wing production at the companies’ joint venture, Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited (TLMAL), located in Hyderabad.
Jim Taiclet, Lockheed Martin chairman, president and CEO, was in India two months earlier hosting the U.S.-India CEO Forum when the initial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was finalized. While in country, he acknowledged the agreement along with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo and Tata Sons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran.
Lockheed Martin recognized TLMAL as a potential co-producer of fighter wings in 2021 following TLMAL’s successful production and qualification of a prototype fighter wing shipset. Through this prototype project, TLMAL demonstrated manufacturing of detailed parts and assembly of a fuel-carrying 9-g, 12,000 hour, interchangeable/replaceable representative fighter wing.
That achievement further strengthened Lockheed Martin’s partnership with India and supports the F-21 for procurement of 114 new fighter aircraft — exclusively for India — by demonstrating indigenous production capability. The India F-21 represents an unprecedented strategic and economic opportunity for the United States-India relationship and represents a catalyst to future advanced technology cooperation.
The initial TLMAL-produced wings will support the fighter aircraft assembly line at the Lockheed Martin facility in Greenville, South Carolina. However, the transfer of technology and manufacturing rigor will carry over into production of the F-21 in India.
This effort marks a significant recognition of the technical expertise in India as well as the value the TLMAL team will bring to current fighter production. Establishing this wing production capability demonstrates Lockheed Martin’s commitment to a self-reliant India and will enhance the competitive posture of the company’s F-21 partnership.
Lockheed Martin’s two successful joint ventures established more than a decade ago, TLMAL and TSAL — Tata Sikorsky Aerospace Limited ― are instrumental toward helping India develop an A&D supplier ecosystem, promote indigenous manufacturing, and participate in the global supply chain.
These joint ventures produce major aerostructure components for the C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, support commercial helicopters and have expanded to include aircraft engine components for aerospace industry companies. More than 500 suppliers, including over 140 Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, support this work. More than USD $650 million worth of exports has been generated providing over USD $200 million of revenue for Indian industry. Lockheed Martin has invested more than USD $100 million of manufacturing equipment, tooling and intellectual property at these joint ventures.
- How will the F-21 program contribute to the development of India’s indigenous aerospace and defence manufacturing capabilities?
The F-21 for India includes sourcing advanced systems and components from across the country via Lockheed Martin’s unrivaled track record of developing robust industrial ecosystems around the globe. This program will generate tens of thousands of highly skilled employment opportunities through the maturation of India’s large and emerging aerospace and defence (A&D) manufacturing ecosystems, including Defence Public Sector Undertakings; Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises; private industry; academia; and research and development.
- What is the anticipated timeline for delivery and induction of the F-21 into the Indian Air Force, should Lockheed Martin secure the MRFA contract?
The final MRFA requirements established by the IAF will determine the timeline for delivery of the full F-21 capability since it will be uniquely configured for India. The active fighter aircraft production line in the United States will support the initial deliveries until a production line is established in India.
- How does Lockheed Martin plan to address potential concerns regarding the F-21’s single-engine design, especially in terms of reliability and survivability in combat scenarios?
The F-21’s single engine design provides the most cost-effective solution without compromise of safety. With the modern engine technology of today, current safety records of single engine aircraft are identical, and in some comparisons, actually better than twin engine aircraft. The single engine design burns significantly less fuel, produces significantly less noise and emissions, and requires half the amount of fleet engine maintenance and cost of two engines. All competitors for the Joint Strike Fighter were single engine designs.
- What provisions are in place for future upgrades of the F-21 to ensure it remains at the cutting edge of technology over its service life?
Lockheed Martin’s growth provisions that exceed existing IAF requirements means the F-21 will have the ability to integrate additional capability throughout its service life.
- How does the F-21 accommodate the integration of indigenous Indian weapons and systems, both current and future?
Weapons requirements will be defined by the IAF based on government-to-government discussions. That said, Lockheed Martin has integrated a multitude of weapons across multiple platforms, so from a technical standpoint, most any weapon would be feasible to incorporate.
