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H S Rao in London
Britain is poised to clinch the Hawk deal with India after BAe Systems, the manufacturer of the advanced jet trainer, reportedly agreed to slash the price and allow more of the aircraft to be built in India.
After 16 years of 'on-off' discussions, the two sides are finally expected to sign the contract before the end of this month, The Times daily said.
The Indian government has reportedly succeeded in bringing down the price to below one billion pounds for the 66 AJTs and secured agreement that 42 of the jets will be built by its Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in Bangalore under a Bae joint venture.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Foreign Secretary Jack Straw have both lobbied the Indian government this year on behalf of BAE, the report said.
"An agreement on the deal is now a matter of dotting the i's and crossing the t's. We are as optimistic as we have been for years that this deal will be signed," a BAE source was quoting as saying.
Hawks are being officially sold for advanced pilot training purposes though they have clear attack capabilities.
BAE and India had been negotiating a price of around $21 million (14.7 million pounds) per aircraft. That price is understood to have fallen.
The company had said that more jobs would have to go at its factory at Brough, Yorkshire, unless it won the order from India.
About 1,900 of the factory's 2,500 employees are employed on work for Hawk.
The Royal Air Force and the South Africa Air Force are also likely to place orders for Hawks at some stage. Securing the deal has been plagued by problems. Each time BAe felt it was close to signing, a new hurdle would emerge, usually from a competitor dropping its price, the report said.
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