Dassault to offer Rafale fighter to Indian navy

Dassault Aviation of France plans to bid on a contract to supply 57 fighter jets to the Indian Navy, the Press Trust of India reported.

Eric Trappier, chief executive officer of Dassault Aviation, was quoted as telling the agency of the company's planned bid while attending the Aero India 2017 air show.

"We are the only company to have strictly the same aircraft for our air force and for our navy. Our Rafale for the navy and the air force are same," he said.

Dassault Aviation recently won a $9.28 billion contract to supply Rafale fighters to the Indian air force.

The Indian navy last month had issued a Request for Information from aircraft manufacturers after deciding to kill an earlier plan to purchase a naval version of the indigenous Tejas fighter.

"In case we have the new contract for the navy, we will benefit from the local implementation of the Rafale production [for the air force]," Trappier said.

Dassault has already begun manufacturing the initial lot of 36 Rafale jets for the Indian air force.

GE Aviation reveals $4B investment in U.S. operations
Evendale, Ohio (UPI) Feb 16, 2017 -GE Aviation invested $4.3 billion in its expanding U.S. operations during the 2011 to 2016 period and another $1.1 billion internationally.

The U.S. investments include $214 million to establish five new plants in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Indiana and Alabama, the company said

GE Aviation also has upgraded current U.S. operations. Facilities in North Carolina and New Hampshire were modernized and centers for emerging technologies were created.

"GE Aviation is a global company with significant technology capability around the world," Colleen Athans, vice president and general manager of the GE Aviation Supply Chain said in a new release. "At the same time, we are introducing several highly proprietary technologies that are upping our manufacturing capabilities in the United States."

GE Aviation is an operating unit of GE, and a provider of jet and turboprop engines, components and integrated systems.

The company said the investments reflect record production of a new generation of jet engines