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The agreements followed two days of high-level meetings in Washington between government officials and executives from dozens of companies, the first under a new dialogue about critical and emerging technologies that President Joe Biden and India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, announced in Tokyo in May.

Jake Sullivan, US national security adviser, told reporters Tuesday that the goal was for technological partnerships to be “the next big milestone” in the US-Indian relationship after a 2016 agreement on nuclear power cooperation. He described the effort as a “big foundational piece of an overall strategy to put the entire democratic world in the Indo-Pacific in a position of strength.”

The agreements will be a test of whether the Biden administration can realize its proposal for “friendshoring” by shifting the manufacturing of certain critical components to friendly countries. Biden officials have expressed concerns about the United States’ continued heavy reliance on China for semiconductors, telecommunications parts and other important goods. In recent months they have clamped down on the sale of advanced semiconductor technology to China, in an effort to stymie an industry that the White House says could give China a military advantage.

Many companies have found it difficult to obtain the factory space and skilled workers they would need to move their supply chains out of China. India has a highly skilled workforce and a government that wants to attract more international investment, but multinational companies seeking to operate there continue to complain of onerous regulations, inadequate infrastructure and other barriers.

Both Biden and Modi are also propelling closer US-Indian cooperation in efforts to build out the industrial and innovation bases of their countries, Sullivan said.

The partnerships announced Tuesday include an agreement between the US and Indian national science agencies to cooperate on artificial intelligence and advanced wireless technology, as well as in other areas.

The countries also pledged to speed up their efforts to jointly produce and develop certain defense technologies, including jet engines, artillery systems and armored infantry vehicles. The United States said it would look to quickly review a new proposal by General Electric to produce a jet engine with India.

Officials also said they would work together to facilitate the build-out of an advanced mobile network in India and look for new cooperation in semiconductor production, including efforts to help India bolster chip research and production that would complement major investments in the industry in the United States.

The new dialogue would include efforts to work through regulatory barriers, as well as visa restrictions that have prevented talented Indians from working in the United States, the countries said.

But experts said India would need to continue to reform its permitting and tax system to lure more foreign manufacturing companies. And the United States would need to reform restrictions on transferring defense-related technology outside the country, they said, if it hopes to work with India to produce jet engines and other advanced weapons.

Analysts also noted that many of the technology partnerships would hinge on new connections between the countries’ private sectors, meaning that the agreements could go only so far.

India’s frequent purchases of Russian military equipment and close ties with Russia also present another wrinkle to the planned partnership. But Biden officials said they believed that the cooperation could accelerate India’s move away from Russia, to the benefit of its relationship with the United States.

On 30 January, Sullivan, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and India’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, met with more than 40 company executives, university presidents and others, including executives from Lockheed Martin, Tata, Adani Defense and Aerospace, and Micron Technology.

“It has the potential to take US-India ties to the next level,” Tanvi Madan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said of the initiative. The trick, she added, will be “getting from potential and promises to outcomes.”

“Many of the decisions to collaborate or not will be made in the private sector, and companies will be assessing the business case as much as, if not more than, the strategic case,” Madan said.

India has traditionally been known as a difficult partner for the United States in trade negotiations. In the talks that the Biden administration is carrying out in Asia, known as the Indo-Pacific Economic Forum, India bowed out of the trade portion of the deal, though it has continued to negotiate in areas such as clean energy, supply chains and labor standards.

But analysts said the Indian government was far more motivated on national security matters, and particularly tempted by the prospects of working with the United States to cultivate cutting-edge tech industries.

“We both have a common purpose here, which is the fear that China is going to eat our lunch in all the sectors unless we find areas to cooperate and collaborate,” said Richard M. Rossow, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

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William L Blair, Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin India, said, “Our joint ventures with Tata and industrial relationships with many Indian companies such as Ashok Leyland, Lakshmi Machine Works, MIDHANI, Rossell Techsys, and SASMOS among others are a testament to the success of the Government of India’s mission to create ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ in the defence sector. ”

The prime attraction at its booth this year was the ‘Made in India’ fuel-carrying, 9G, 12,000-hour, interchangeable/replaceable fighter wing. This wing was manufactured at the Tata Lockheed Martin Aerostructures Limited (TLMAL) facility in Hyderabad, which also serves as the single global source of C-130J empennage assemblies installed on all new Super Hercules aircraft. To date, TLMAL has manufactured and exported more than 180 C-130J empennages.

The F-21 fighter aircraft, which was on offer to the Indian Air Force (IAF), also occupied a prominent place at Lockheed Martin’s booth. The company is leveraging both 4th and 5th generation technologies to offer the best solution to meet or exceed the IAF’s capability needs, provide Make in India industrial opportunities, and accelerate India-United States cooperation on advanced technologies, including but not limited to fighter aircraft.

The Indian Navy’s acquisition of the MH-60R ‘Romeo’ multi-mission helicopter was another highlight for Lockheed Martin at the show. The MH-60R is the world’s most advanced maritime helicopter and brings vital anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities to the Indo-Pacific region. The US Navy already delivered the first three aircraft to the Indian Navy in 2021, and these aircraft are being utilised for training Indian pilots and crew members in California. In July-August 2022, the US Navy transported to India another three helicopters, which will be initially based at Naval Air Station INS Garuda in Kochi. A total of 24 MH-60Rs will be delivered to the country over the next few years.

India’s workhorse, the C-130J Super Hercules airlifter, which represents a strong legacy of partnership between India and the US, was also on display at the Lockheed Martin booth. The S-92 helicopter also boosted Lockheed Martin’s presence at the show; it recently surpassed two million fleet flight hours which is a testament to the reliability of the multi-mission aircraft.

As part of the Javelin Joint Venture, Lockheed Martin also produces the Javelin fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile system.

The company’s present and future programmes in India range from transport, maritime and fighter aircraft to sea and land-based air and missile defence projects and capabilities in civil sectors, including new and renewable energy.

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The Indian Air Force has plans of acquiring 114 Multirole Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) under ‘Buy Global and Make in India’ scheme under which Indian companies would be allowed to partner with a foreign vendor. The Indian Air Force has to rely heavily on these 114 fighter jets for maintaining its superiority over the neighboring rivals Pakistan and China.

Amid a big push for the Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme by the PM Narendra Modi-led government, the Indian Air Force is planning to acquire 114 fighter jets of which 96 would be built in India, and rest 18 would be imported from the foreign vendor chosen for the project.

As per the plan, after the initial 18 aircraft are imported, the next 36 aircraft would be manufactured within the country and the payments would be made partially in foreign currency and Indian currency. The last 60 aircraft would be the main responsibility of the Indian partner and the government would make payments only in Indian currency. The payment in Indian currency would help the vendors to achieve the over 60 per cent ‘Make-in-India’ content in the project.

Boeing’s F-15EX and F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet, Saab’s JAS-39 Gripen, Lockheed Martin’s F-21 and Dassault Aviation’s Rafale are expected to participate in the tender. Of these, the F 21 and Gripen are single-engine aircraft, while the rest are twin-engines. While the single-engine fighters are cheaper, it is not known whether that will be a consideration for the IAF acquisition.

Interim Plans

The 36 Rafale aircraft procured under emergency orders helped immensely in maintaining an edge over the Chinese during the Ladakh crisis which started in 2020 but the numbers are not enough and more such capability would be required by it. The IAF is highly satisfied with the operational availability of the Rafale fighter jets and wants similar capability in its future aircraft.

The IAF has already placed orders for 83 of the LCA Mk 1A aircraft but it still requires a higher number of capable aircraft as a large number of MiG series planes have either been phased out or are on their last legs.

The fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft project is moving ahead at a satisfactory pace but it will take a lot of time to be able to be inducted in an operational role.

The IAF is also looking for a cost-effective solution for its fighter jet requirement as it wants a plane that is low on operational cost and gives more capability to the service.

Rafale

The main contender is the Rafale fighter which the IAF is already accustomed to, since 36 of these fighters, bought under a  2016 government to government deal and costing Euro 7.8 billion — are already in use by the IAF.

Known as an omnirole aircraft — one which can conduct complex combat assignments, including ground attacks, beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air combats or interceptions, during the same sortie — the Rafale fighter is a ‘4.5 generation aircraft’, with a top speed of 1.8 Mach, nearly double the speed of sound.

It is the most potent aircraft currently in use by the IAF, in terms of range, radar and weaponry.

The Rafale is a twin-engine, canard-delta wing, multi-role fighter aircraft, fit for varied purposes, such as reconnaissance, providing ground support to troops, in-depth strikes, and anti-ship strikes.

The Rafale has a ferry range of 3,700 km and is equipped with internal and external fuel tanks. In terms of weaponry, the Rafale has 14 hard points to carry different types of missiles, including the the Meteor air-to-air missiles — which come with a Beyond Visual Range (BVR) of about 150 KMs and the deadly air to surface Scalp which has a range of over 500 KMs.

The Rafale has been used by the French Air Force in multiple campaigns across Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, the Central African Republic, Iraq and Syria.

F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet

Recently featured in the superhit Hollywood film Top Gun: Maverick — which shows actor Tom Cruise manoeuvering the craft to evade enemy’s surface-to-air missiles whilst fulfilling a seemingly impossible mission — the F/A-18 Bock III Super Hornet is being touted as a “game-changer” for Indian military, if acquired.

The F/A-18 has been the leading aircraft for the US Navy for nearly four decades. It is designed as both a fighter and attack aircraft and Block III is its latest version. Currently, the US Navy has over 700 F/A-18s, which are operational worldwide. The original Block I Hornet was introduced into service in 1984.

The version under consideration by the IAF— the F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet — is a twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft.

Block III comes in two versions, the F/A-18 E which is a single-seater and the double-seater F/A-18 F. Both versions have been built for high-loading and high-stress operations.

A major upgrade in the Block III, from the earlier F/A-18, is its “advanced cockpit system”, which is operated via a customisable 10×19-inch touch screen. Essentially, this system has replaced hard displays in the cockpit with iPad-like features. This enables smoother flight operations and decision-making, giving the pilot more time to assess the battlefield.

Further, to store weapons, Block III has an “enclosed, external weapons pod built to carry up to 2,500-pounds of weapons”. From the pod, various missiles and bombs can be fired, which include the “AIM 9X Sidewinder air-to-air missile, the AIM 120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (an air-to-ground missile), the Small Diameter Bomb and the Mark-84 bomb, among others”.

Block III has a life of approximately 10,000 flying hours. However, the drawback is that the F/A-18s lack stealth capabilities.

Boeing is waiting for the IAF to come out with its technical requirements before deciding whether they will offer the Super Hornet or the F-15 EX.

F-15 EX

The F-15 EX is the upgraded replacement of the F-15C. It is referred to as the “Eagle-II”. The F-15 EX is also developed by Boeing and is another contender from their portfolio for the MRFA.

The original F-15s were first deployed by the United States Air Force in the mid-1970s. Today’s version includes multiple upgrades and enhancements.

Specifically, the F-15EX includes enhancements to “manoeuvrability, acceleration, durability, computing power, and weapons carriage ability of the F-15C”.

According to Boeing, the F-15 EX “includes a best-in-class payload, range and speed”. Payload refers to the carrying capacity of a jet, including cargo, munitions, etc.

An article published in the Air Force Magazine claimed that the advanced specs of the Eagle-II entail “digital fly-by-wire flight controls, a large area display glass-cockpit, and an APG-82 AESA radar”.

Further, the F-15EX is built with an open mission system software, which allows the operating network of the fighters to undergo rapid upgrades and capability enhancements. Ensuring it is never outdated from the latest standards in the industry.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), a public policy research institute of the US Congress, explains that the F-15EX have “stronger airframes, more powerful processors and advanced flight control systems” than any other fighter operated by the United States Air Force.

The F-15EX is capable of firing AMRAAM. The US Air National Guard conducted a successful firing of the AIM-120D AMRAAM from the F-15EX over the Gulf of Mexico in February 2022.

The F-15 EX also boasts a flying life of 20,000 hours, much longer than the average flying time of fighters, which ranges between 6,000-to 8,000 hours.

F-21

The F-21s are a product of the US defence conglomerate Lockheed Martin.

The F-21 is an adapted and advanced version of the F-16 and is specially tweaked by the manufacturer to cater to the needs of the IAF. The F-16 is commonly called the “Fighting Falcon”. However, the F-21 is a fighter on paper and has not been manufactured yet.

The F-21 has been touted as a multi-role fighter. From the original, the F-21 retains the nose-mounted radar fit, wide-view canopy, and a single-engine installation.

The F-21 comprises both single-seater and double-seater variants. It includes three underwing hardpoints (the area on an airframe that is used to carry external and internal load). Two of these hardpoints are for reserve fuel tanks, which can be used in case travel ranges increase.

Further, the F-21 also comes with wingtip missile hardpoints, which like the F-15EX support the AIM-20D AMRAAM. It also entails a triple launcher to fire these AMRAAM missiles.

The F-21 is equipped with a retractable fuel probe, an essential element for IAF fighters to ensure smooth fuelling at their bases.

Saab JAS-39 Gripen

The Saab JAS-39 Gripen is a light, single-engine, multirole fighter aircraft manufactured by Swedish aerospace and defence company, Saab AB.

It was introduced into the Swedish Air Force in 1996 and is described as an “affordable non-stealth aircraft”. According to an article published in The Express, UK, the Swedish Air Force currently operates between 1,000 to 2,000 of these fighters.

The JAS-39 was the first fighter to be loaded and capable of firing the Meteor air-to-air missile, a beyond visual range (BVR) weapon, capable of striking targets up to 150 kilometres.

Different variants of the Gripen can carry different loads of meteor missiles. The Gripen-C can carry four, whereas the Gripen E can carry seven.

Alluding to the modern operating system that the Gripen runs on, Saab’s website explains, “Gripen’s unique avionics architecture is the definition of smart. It means we can reconfigure the inside of Gripen without affecting the airframe. Or put another way, we can rapidly upgrade Gripen’s avionics whenever new technology becomes available.”

Beyond Sweden, the Gripen is currently operational in the Czech Republic, Hungary, South Africa, and Thailand.

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Ultimately, the aim is indigenisation. A Twin-Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) is being developed but it will take some time. In the interim, the Navy is looking for an aircraft from among the two to meet their requirements.

The procurement size was earlier 57 twin-engine carrier fighters, which is now set to be downsized to around 26, including a few twin-seater trainer variants.

IAF’s MRFA Acquisition

On the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft acquisition for the Indian Air Force – the IAF has already received responses from multiple vendors to its RFI. The top contenders for the multi-billion dollar deal include Lockheed Martin’s F-21, Boeing’s F/A-18, Dassault Aviation’s Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian aircraft MiG 35 and Swedish aerospace giant Saab’s Gripen jet.

In April 2019, the IAF issued an RFI (Request for Information), or initial tender, to acquire 114 jets at a cost of around USD 18 billion.

The winner of the Indian Air Force’s mega project to procure 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) will have to ensure the transfer of technology as it would be implemented under the framework of the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative

The entire process will be executed under the provisions of the DAP (Defence Acquisition Procedure) 2020, the selected OEM (Original Equipment Maker) will have to comply with India’s requirements of transfer of technology and Make-in-India that would add to our indigenous fighter aircraft manufacturing capability.

The number of squadrons of the IAF is going down gradually because of the phasing out of old aircraft. The IAF is not going to reach the sanctioned strength of 42 fighter squadrons in the next 10-15 years. Hence, a two-pronged strategy has being adopted towards maintaining the IAF’s strength that involves induction of new generation platforms and up-gradation of the existing fleet.

Procurement of 114 jets under the MRFA project and acquisition of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will help the IAF significantly enhance its combat prowess.

India is also working on an ambitious USD 5 billion project to develop a fifth-generation medium-weight deep penetration fighter jet to significantly bolster its air power capability.

IAF’s Current Fleet

Presently, India operates six kinds of fighter aircraft – Su-30MKI, Rafale, Tejas, MiG-29, Mirage 2000 and MiG-21. Considering MiG-21’s frequent accidents, the IAF is expected to decomm-ission the ageing aircraft by 2025. So effectively, we have five types of fighter jets.

Among all, Sukhoi Su-30MKI is the largest and primary fleet of the Indian Air Force. With a total of 284 operational numbers, the Russia-made Sukhoi is an air superiority fighter with additional air-to-ground strike capability.

Next is the Jaguar (Shamsher). IAF has 139 Jaguars. Attached with EL/M-2052 AESA radars and new avionics, Jaguar is considered a ground attack specialized fighter jet.

Dassault Mirage 2000 (Vajra), is the fourth generation single-engine multi-role fighter jet. Currently, about 50 different variants of Mirage are being operated by IAF. In February 2019, Mirage-2000 fighter jets were used to hit terror camps in Balakot inside PoK. Attached with Israeli laser-guided SPICE bombs, the Mirage-200 is a highly reliable aircraft for India.

With all these fourth-generation fighter jets, India now has inducted 36 Dassault Rafales – A French twin-engine canard delta wing multirole fighter jet is capable of performing air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike, and nuclear deterrence missions.

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The contract will see the company carry out the in-depth maintenance inspections on the Indian fleet of C-130J while further strengthening their long-term relationship with Lockheed Martin. The aircraft were delivered to the Indian Air Force under the US Government Foreign Military Sales programme in an outstanding example of both political and military cooperation.

First acquiring the platform in 2008, India has gone on to procure additional airframes through the US Government and Lockheed Martin in more recent years to support its tactical airlift requirements, now operating a fleet of 12 C-130J aircraft.

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Interestingly there has always been Seven foreign aircraft manufacturers in the MRFA tender that includes American firms Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Russia’s Mig corporation and Sukhoi bureau, French Dassault Aviation, Swedish SAAB group and the Eurofighter which could mean that there is a new entry in the MRFA tender or it was simply a slip off to mind he also confirmed that the Indian Air Force prefers to take.

Some sources says that there will be a new entrants and that may be a stealth fighter. Speculations are circulating that this will be either American F-35 or Russian Su-75 single engine or Su-57E twin engine stealth fighters.

Air Chief Marshall confirmed that the Indian Air Force (IAF) would prefer to take the “˜Buy Global Make Indian” route over the strategic partnership policy model to produce the planes within the country just like the C-295 deal with Airbus will be executed with the Tata Systems in India.

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