Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh's recent appointment diary underlines the stakes. Sweden's Saab has the Gripen IN, Dassault is seeking its first foreign order for the Rafale, Eurofighter is pitching the Typhoon, and Russia is offering the RSK MiG-35. US airframer Boeing is offering its F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and arch-rival Lockheed Martin the F-16IN Super Viper - essentially an F-16 Block 60. © Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin's F-16IN Super Viper has set its sights on India's MMRCA contest As for the losers, most will end their production runs in the middle of the decade as the world's major air forces enter the era of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. With an order of 126 fighters on the cards, and likely follow-on orders, the winning programme could see its life extended well into the next decade.

It is hard to overstate the importance of the $10 billion MMRCA competition. Decade of Airline Excellence Awards 2020Īn air show on the scale of next week's Aero India is bound to throw up surprises, but one certainty is a massive push by the six contenders in India's pivotal medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition.ĭelegations from Boeing, Dassault, Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin, RSK MiG and Saab will number in the dozens, if not hundreds, and no expense will be spared on chalets, booths, flight simulators and pricey flight demonstrations.

Critical role battle royale winner