US armaments major Raytheon has said it is ready to supply to India the advanced active electronically scanned array radar, which has not been offered to Pakistan, for use with the F-16 and F-18 fighter jets.
The F-16 and F-18 are being considered for an Indian Air Force contract to purchase 126 multi-role combat aircraft, and the AESA radar will significantly boost the war-fighting capabilities of both the jets, Raytheon officials said.
Significantly, Raytheon said it is also willing to "work to secure US government approval" for exporting sensitive technologies like the AESA radar to India.
It pointed out that the US government has not offered either the F-18 or the AESA system to Pakistan.
Torkel Patterson, president of Raytheon International, told PTI, "Raytheon is looking at a long-term partnership approach in India, rather than a buyer-seller relationship. This approach will be based on establishing partnerships with
Indian companies for technology transfer for localised production of certain components."
Once the Indo-US nuclear deal is finalised, it would "herald a new era in bilateral relations, especially in defence", Patterson said.
The AESA system, which steers radar beams at nearly the speed of light and is lighter and more accurate than conventional radars, is fitted on the US Navy's F-18 jets.
Raytheon officials said it could also be fitted on the F-16 if the jet is chosen by India for the Air Force contract.
Raytheon has also offered other potent systems like the air-to-air AMRAAM missiles and ATFLIR infra-red targeting pod for use with the F-16 and and F-18, company officials said.
