A bipartisan pair of senators is hoping to speed up Lockheed Martin’s plan to open a production line for the F-16 in India, as well as approve a drone sale to the country.
Sens.John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a pair of letters this week to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis, urging them to sign off on the F-16 production line in India and approve the export of the Guardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft, a non-lethal maritime surveillance platform.
The lawmakers — co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus — argue that both sales would bolster the U.S.-India military relationship.
India has been looking to buy new fighter aircraft since 2007 and in October relaunched a competition with the F-16 and the Saab Gripen as the two contenders.
Lockheed has since pledged to open a production line in India for the F-16s, but the plan has yet to be approved by the new administration.
The two senators also push for the sale of the Guardian to India in a second, separate letter. India requested the Guardian in June, a request that has been pending with the U.S. government since.
By Baishakhi Dutta
