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Rajya Sabha
During Defence Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee’s recent visit to the United States of America, the US Department of Defence made a verbal offer to provide a technical briefing on the Patriot Advance Capability (PAC)-3 anti-missile defence system to India. This is not a formal offer to sell the system. No date has been fixed for the briefing as yet. Its utility for India’s defence preparedness has still to be assessed.
As regards F-16 aircraft, the US has cleared the US manufacturers of F-16 and F-18 aircraft to respond to an Indian Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Medium Multi-Role combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force when it is issued. The process is still at an early stage. The RFP has not yet been issued by the Ministry of Defence. Responses to the RFP will be assessed on the merits of each offer.
Defence acquisition from the US at present are still modest and confined to a few systems. The US has however, signaled its readiness to liberalise and defence trade relationship subject to its legislative and security requirements. This relationship has still to be developed. As a source of the most advanced defence technologies, enhanced levels of high technology defence procurement from the US could contribute to our defence modernization and preparedness.
This information was given by the Defence Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee in a written reply to Shri Abu Asim Azmi in Rajya Sabha today.
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