The US could scuttle India's potential sale of the Tejas aircraft to Brazil because the South Asian country's warplane may emerge as the direct challenger to American military jets, which Washington wishes to export to Global South nations, a defence expert has said.
As per Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran Group Captain (Retd) Uttam Kumar Devnath, Brazil, like many other Latin American, Southeast Asian, and African nations does not wish to acquire any Western warplane and is very keen to procure the Tejas fighter aircraft from India.
He believes that the Brazilian Air Force Chief Lieutenant-brigadier Marcelo Kantiz Damasceno, who is currently in India, has found that the Tejas aircraft is very successful, and lightweight, besides being relatively economical compared to Western military jets.
Also, Brazil has had first-hand experience with the Tejas during the recently-held air exercise Tarang Shakti at the Sulur Air Force Base in Tamil Nadu and Jodhpur Air Force Base in Rajasthan where it demonstrated its air-to-air and air-to-surface capabilities.
Last year, Argentina was on the verge of procuring Tejas from India before Buenos Aires dropped the plan under intense US pressure and instead acquired used F-16 fighter jets from Denmark.
"Argentina fell for the Western bluff as Washington was able to convince the South American state that the Lockheed Martin-manufactured warplane was far more potent than the Indian aircraft. Frankly speaking, this is a problem encountered by many countries who are not US or Western allies," Devnath told Sputnik India on Friday.
He reckons that the US would want the countries of the Global South to acquire its aircraft and for that, it would go to any length, including arm-twisting them, which they did so successfully in the case of Argentina.
Moreover, Washington wishes to see the indigenous aircraft development programs of nations such as India fail because this would allow the US to keep selling its military planes to these countries, thus ensuring contracts worth billions of dollars for its heavyweight defence corporations like Boeing, General Atomics, General Electric (GE) and Lockheed Martin amongst others, the retired Indian military officer added.
"For instance, during the 1960s and the 1970s, India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) developed the HF-24 fighter jet, which was codenamed Marut. However, the Indian defence establishment's vision to transform it into a supersonic aircraft never materialised, primarily because Western states like the US and the UK did not supply their technologically advanced engines to India. Eventually, New Delhi was forced to close the production of Marut in 1982," Devnath highlighted.
He stressed that the US is again trying to exert pressure on India not to export the Tejas and this has been possible because it is powered by an American engine.
The strategic affairs commentator underlined that the Pentagon is concerned that if the Indian-made fighter jet ends up being a part of any foreign air force and showcases its prowess there, it would become extremely difficult for the US authorities to press for the sale of American-built planes, particularly to Global South countries.
After all, Global South nations want to optimise their defence expenditure, and procuring American military equipment is costly, and maintaining it is highly expensive, Devnath asserted.
He emphasisedthat because of this, they are looking at cost-effective options like the Tejas, which are already in use by the Indian Air Force and have been rated highly for maneuverability, light-weightiness, and speed.
"Another problem that India faces in its attempts to sell the Tejas to foreign countries is its content. One must note that only 60 percent content of the aircraft is Indian while the rest is sourced from abroad. While the engine that powers the Tejas is manufactured by GE, its electronic warfare (EW) suit is of Israeli origin, and the Martin-Baker ejection seats fitted into the fighter jet are imported from the UK," Devnath elaborated.
He mentioned that this would always raise serious doubts in the minds of countries who are in talks to acquire the Tejas, especially about the warplane's serviceability.
Devnath asked what if the US stopped providing engines for the Tejas to India, what if Tel Aviv shows its reluctance about supplying a fresh set of EW suits for the aircraft to New Delhi, and what if London denies a fresh consignment of ejection seats?
He opined that these concerns become even more critical when one realises that all the three countries - the US, the UK, and Israel - that are so critical to keeping the Tejas afloat are staunch allies.
"In summary, I would say that the chances of the Tejas becoming an export item of repute would witness a significant jump when the level of indigenous components in the aircraft jumps to over 80 percent. They would improve even further if instead of an American engine, it were powered by a domestically developed engine like the Kaveri or a Russian engine because Moscow has never created hurdles in India's defence exports. A case in point is the BrahMos," the military pundit concluded.