The Eurofighter Typhoon is the frontrunner in a race to win a $10.4bn fighter jet contract in India, the country’s ambassador to Italy has said.
Eurofighter, produced by a consortium of European companies, is one of the six aircraft that will compete for the Indian Air Force’s 126-jet order, according to Reuters.
The flight trials of the aircraft are expected to finish this April and the contract is expected to be awarded shortly after.
The competing aircraft include Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, France’s Dassault Rafale, Lockheed Martin’s F-16, Russia’s MiG-35 and Sweden’s Saab JAS-39 Gripen.
The order for the new jets is part of the Indian Government’s plans to spend over $30bn on defence upgrades over the next five years to counter potential threats from Pakistan and China.
