WASHINGTON: India and the US have signed a billion-dollar (about Rs 3,900 crore) deal for purchase of six super Hercules military transport planes from Lockheed Martin which Pentagon feels breaks the "psychological barrier" in bilateral defense cooperation.

The deal was signed recently following the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security clearing last month the purchase of the six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft. The planes are expected to be delivered starting 2011. Commenting on the deal, a top US defense official said the agreement would set the stage for American companies to bid for the contract for multi-role combat aircraft. "It is a very good plane and is very widely used.

It is a workhorse and it has been used for 40 years but the ‘J’ type (C-130J) is amazing...It can really take off on a much shorter runway and India basically lacks this kind of an airplane," James Clad, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense said. Lockheed is also bidding against Russian and European competitors for the sale to Indian Air force 126 multi-purpose combat aircraft. Clad, the senior Pentagon official whose portfolio is South and South East Asia, said the deal has helped breach a "psychological barrier" in Indo-US defense cooperation.

"What it does it is that it squarely puts Lockheed Martin on the ground with Boeing which is already there in India in civilian aircraft. It is one of those things where the psychology of which is very significant There have been other things like Raytheon radars but this is the kind of thing that has an effect on the defense corporate community...Diligence, good work and products make the difference," he said. "It puts us on the scoreboard," Clad added.

"The time since the RFP (request for proposal) went out it was a pretty straight forward thing. And that signals things as well," Clad said on the Lockheed deal. "The main thing is that it is six planes and there have been far bigger deals in the trade world. It is a plane that is very inter-operable...It’s huge and has a tremendous variety of functions and it has the impact of putting Lockheed Martin squarely on the ground," he maintained.

He said it is expected that Boeing and Lockheed will bid on the multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) for the IAF too and "that’s a psychological boost in the arm." "The MRCA has a timeline for response to the RFP which I think is March 2. It is the beginning of a long, long process but the Lockheed deal of six C-130Js seems to be done. It is done," clad said. The Cabinet Committee on Security’s clearance for the Lockheed deal came ahead of the first-ever visit to India by new US Defense Secretary Robert Gates later this month.

During the trip, comprehensive discussions in the realm of bilateral defense relations are expected to be held, focusing not only on the short and medium-term ties but laying out a framework for the long term as well. Defense and security relationship between India and the United States is one of those "deeper ongoing things", clad remarked.