Key points
- Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II fighter jet have sustained a couple of recent setbacks: US media
- Pakistan Shot Down India’s Rafale fighter jets in recent Pakistan-India tension
- Loss of Rafale fighter jets was a huge shock, embarrassment to India: The National Interest
ISLAMABAD: There is the possibility that India is about to buy Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Stealth Fighter, according to an international magazine, The National Interest.
The National Interest reported that during his February 2025 White House meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, Trump stated that US would eventually provide F-35s to New Delhi, but did not provide a timeline, according to the Magazine. Concurrently, Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri told reporters that the process was “at the stage of a proposal,” whilst Rahul Bedi, an India-based defense analyst, said such a deal could “take several years.”
“A huge shock”
However, those statements were made before the latest hot war between India and Pakistan. Therein, the Indian Air Force lost French-made 4.5-generation Dassault Rafale fighter jets in a dogfight against Pakistani Air Force (PAF), according to the National Interest. This was a huge shock and embarrassment to the former and a major source of pride for the latter, as well as a major cause of concern as to whether Western air combat technology is lagging behind China’s.
“Recent setbacks”
Foreign military sales prospects for Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II fighter jet have sustained a couple of recent setbacks, according to The National Interest.
Portugal’s outgoing Defence Minister Nuno Melo, out of displeasure with US president Donald Trump’s NATO policies, cast doubt upon whether Lisbon would follow the recommendation of the Portuguese Air Force to purchase the fifth-generation fighter. And just last week, South Korea announced its decision to avoid the F-35B for a drone mothership.
Meanwhile, a recent near-death experience for a Lightning II against a Houthi surface-to-air missile (SAM) probably didn’t do much to help the stealth jet’s sales prospects either, The National Interest reported.
It reported that so then, Portuguese and South Korean setbacks notwithstanding, perhaps Lockheed Martin’s continuing sales prospects for its flagship Skunk Works product are not so bleak after all. The National Interest reported that so then, who is the likely unnamed customer for this hush-hush deal? One possibility is India, The National Interest reported.
