Amid speculations over purchase of fighter aircraft for the IAF, three tweets by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have created a buzz in the national capital on whether the Narendra Modi government would ask a foreign vendor to set up a manufacturing plant for fighter aircraft in India.
Fadnavis visited Swedish firm Saab’s aircraft manufacturing facility at Linköping on Wednesday and thanked the company for showing interest in “Make in India” and “Make in Maharashtra” schemes.
He met Saab Chairman Marcus Wallenberg and promised a defence manufacturing policy in Maharashtra soon.
The tweets added fuel to speculations on the fate of the medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) deal because they follow Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s suggestions that a single-engine light weight aircraft can replace the Indian Air Force’s ageing MiG-21 and MiG-27 fleets that would be phased out in the next six to 10 years.
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