A Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has joined the race to sell an Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) plane to India, officials said on Sunday.
Officials from Brazil's Embraer company rejected speculation that the firm was negotiating with Islamabad for the sale of similar military hardware to the Pakistani armed forces.
"On the contrary, we are fully concentrated and focussed on supporting Indian aviation and armed forces," Embraer Walter Nori told reporters.
Sources said the company was campaigning to sell its EMB-145 remote-sensing aircraft, which is capable of 360-degree detection and tracking of air and sea targets, to the Indian Air Force.
The Brazilian firm argues the EMB-145 compares favourably with Israel's Phalcon AWACS, which is also in the race in India.
Russia, India's closest political ally and which accounts for 70 percent of the military hardware in New Delhi's inventory, also hopes to fit India's airforce with an AWACS.
India began scouting around for AWACS for its air force, the world's fourth largest, after a locally-built prototype crashed in January 1999.
Israeli defense ministry's director general Amos Yaron visited India in September to try and promote several arms deals, including the sale of the Phalcon.
India needs at least two AWACS in the near future for its 1,200-aircraft air force.
New Delhi in April secretly leased a Russian AWACS for a month and then returned the system as it fell below the expectations of the Indian Air Force, a military source said.
The defense ministry fears the purchase of AWACS could hit hurdles because of US-led sanctions on such supplies imposed on India following New Delhi's string of nuclear tests in May 1998 -- NEW DELHI (AFP)
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