Eurofighter leading race for India deal
Sunday, 24 January 2010
ROME, Jan 23 (Reuters): The Eurofighter Typhoon is "leading the race" to win a contract from the Indian government for 126 fighter jets, valued at around $10.4 billion, India's ambassador to Italy said Friday.
"We have shortlisted four to five countries, then the trials process and evaluation will follow. Eurofighter is one of them, in which Italy is involved, and it's leading the race," ambassador Arif Shahid Khan told the reporter after a meeting with a senior aid to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, France's Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin Corp's F-16, Russia's MiG-35, Sweden's Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, produced by a consortium of European companies, are competing for the order.
"We have shortlisted four to five countries, then the trials process and evaluation will follow. Eurofighter is one of them, in which Italy is involved, and it's leading the race," ambassador Arif Shahid Khan told the reporter after a meeting with a senior aid to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornet, France's Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin Corp's F-16, Russia's MiG-35, Sweden's Saab JAS-39 Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon, produced by a consortium of European companies, are competing for the order.