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The announcement was made by Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, the Chief of the IAF while receiving the first C-295 transport aircraft in Spain. He underscored the pivotal role of the LCA in replacing the ageing MiG-series fleet, which includes the MiG-21, MiG-23, and MiG-27 aircraft.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said, “With the retirement of these ageing aircraft, it is imperative that we bolster our inventory with LCA class aircraft. Therefore, in addition to the 83 LCA Mark 1A aircraft we have already contracted for, we are advocating for the acquisition of around 100 more.”

The objective in acquiring these domestically produced aircraft is to phase out the older MiG-series fighter jets in its fleet. The proposal has been formally submitted to the defence ministry and other national security stakeholders. This decision to procure approximately 100 more LCA Tejas fighters follows a comprehensive review meeting chaired by the Air Force Chief, which included key stakeholders in the indigenous fighter jet program, such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The order, if approved and realised, would represent a substantial expansion of the Indian Air Force’s LCA Tejas fleet. Over the next 15 years, the IAF is expected to have 40 LCA Tejas, more than 180 LCA Mark-1A, and a minimum of 120 LCA Mark-2 aircraft in its inventory.

The LCA Mark 1A stands as an advanced iteration of the Tejas aircraft, featuring upgraded avionics and radar systems compared to the initial 40 LCAs supplied to the Air Force. The first deliveries of LCA Mark 1A is anticipated around February 2024. Boasting a substantial indigenous component of over 65 percent, the LCA Mark 1A reaffirms India’s commitment to self-reliance in the aerospace sector. This program aligns seamlessly with the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives, highlighting the nation’s unwavering dedication to achieving self-sufficiency in aerospace technology and manufacturing.

Earlier, in August 2023, after the fighter jet successfully fired the Astra indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile, the IAF chief held a review meeting of the indigenous fighter jet programme with all entities involved including the HAL.

The Air Chief brought out that the LCA has been the flag bearer of the IAF efforts towards indigenisation of its aircraft fleet. He said that given the nature of this project of national importance, it is required that all stakeholders adopt a collaborative approach towards its success. The programme has been the harbinger of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the nation. More importantly, it is a flag bearer of India’s self-reliance in the aerospace sector.

During the review, it was brought out that all contracted fighter variants of the LCA Mk 1 had been delivered to the IAF. Representatives of HAL had assured the chief of the timely delivery of the contracted twin-seaters in the coming months, as well. Further to the LCA Mk 1, 83 LCA Mk-1A aircraft have also been contracted by the IAF in 2021. The CMD of HAL had assured those present that the deliveries of this advanced variant of the LCA would commence by February 2024.

While complimenting HAL, the Air Chief indicated that based on these assurances, the LCA Mk 1A could be inducted in a newly raised squadron in one of the IAF’s operational bases, early next year. Notwithstanding the project delays that were brought out during the course of the review, the CAS lauded the efforts of all stakeholders and emphasised on the need to incorporate the lessons learnt from the LCA programme into future indigenous design and developmental projects. With timely deliveries of the more capable variant, the LCA Mk 1A is likely to see increased deployments at forward bases, besides participation in International exercises in the days to come.

The order for 100 LCA Mark1A fighter jets would make way for fighter jets re-entry into the Indian Air Force in very large numbers. In the next 15 years, the IAF will have 40 LCA, over 180 LCA Mark-1A and at least 120 LCA Mark-2 planes. The last order for LCA Mark1A was for 83 aircraft and the first plane would be delivered around February 2024.

The advanced version of Tejas aircraft, LCA Mark 1A has more advanced avionics and radars than the initial 40 LCAs being supplied to the Air Force and will have more indigenous content. The LCA Tejas programme has been the harbinger of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the nation. More importantly, it is a flag bearer of India’s self-reliance in the aerospace sector as well as the force’s efforts towards the indigenisation of its aircraft fleet.

Parliamentary Panel’s Concerns

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence report tabled in the House on — has expressed ‘concern’ over the existing fighting force levels of the IAF.

The committee was informed by the MoD that delivery of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas MK-1A fighter aircraft will commence from February 2024 and complete by January 2029 and the case for procurement of 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) is under progress.

Expressing their concern over the existing force level in the Air Force, the committee desired that “all-out efforts be made to expedite supply of Tejas”. The committee urged the MoD to make a time-bound schedule. The committee noted that plan for theaterisation of armed forces, or creation of integrated theatre commands has been considered by the forces at the highest level.

LCA Navy Trainer Prototype

The LCA Naval trainer prototype NP5 successfully completed its maiden flight on August 18 from HAL airport.

Designed and developed jointly by ADA and HAL, LCA Navy can also serve as an effective training platform for Indian Navy pilots for operations from the aircraft carriers. Addition of NP5 aircraft to LCA Navy prototype fleet will help to accelerate flight testing activities which will provide designers vital inputs towards design and development of the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF), the prestigious futuristic carrier aircraft programme of the country.

The new prototype NP5 will undertake field and carrier operations from both INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, ADA said, adding it will incorporate all improvements identified during exploitation of NP1 and NP2 is a production ready aircraft. It will also incorporate the production standard airframe and rainwater compliance, maintainability improvements as well as futuristic system advancement.

The first trainer prototype NP1 was flown on April 27, 2012 and the fighter prototype NP2 was flown on February 7, 2015. Both Naval Prototypes (NP1 and NP2) have achieved major landmark milestones like Ski Jump take off and arrested landing demonstrations on Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) at Dabolim Airport, Goa and operations from indigenous aircraft carriers. The aircraft demonstrated 18 arrested landings and Ski Jump take offs from INS Vikramaditya in January 2020, including hot refuelling capability. Recently, LCA Navy participated in the carrier trials from INS Vikrant and performed 10 Ski Jump take offs and arrested landings on February 6, 2023.

The LCA Navy is equipped with state-of-the-art technologies such as fly-by-wire flight control system, glass cockpit and advanced mechanical systems. The aircraft can be operated seamlessly both during the day and night. It features advanced hands free ski jump take-off and landing flight control modes. LCA Navy prototypes are carrier compatible and can operate with Air-to-Air weapons for combat missions.

Twin-Seater Trainer Version Handed Over to IAF

The IAF got its first Tejas twin-seater trainer version aircraft on October 4 from HAL. The twin-seater trainer version aircraft is part of the LCA Tejas project, the largest R&D program ever undertaken in India.

As part of the Tejas contract between the HAL and the Indian Air Force, the defence public sector unit has to supply eight twin-seater trainer aircraft to the force. HAL has an order for 18 twin-seaters from the IAF, with plans to deliver eight by the fiscal year 2023-24 and the remaining ten by 2026-27. 

The LCA Tejas Twin Seater is a lightweight, all-weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft, featuring advanced technologies such as relaxed static stability, quadruplex fly-by-wire flight control, carefree manoeuvring, an advanced glass cockpit, integrated digital avionics systems, and advanced composite materials for the airframe.

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The Indian Air Force (IAF), which is down to 31 fighter jet squadrons (some 16-18 planes in each squadron), is banking on rapid induction of the indigenous Tejas and a separate programme with a foreign partner to ramp up numbers.

The IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, while addressing a press conference ahead of Air Force Day, said 83 of the Tejas Mark 1-A are on order and the proposal to make 114 medium-range fighter aircraft (MRFA) in India has been finalised. The foreign manufacturers in the MRFA project have been asked to have a greater “Make in India” commitment.

Another 10 planes of the first lot of 40 Tejas will be delivered this year. “The project to get 12 additional Sukhoi-30 MKI and 21 of the MiG-29 is deferred,” he added.

On further long-term projects, the IAF chief said the force was committed to the indigenous Tejas Mark 2 and is looking at six squadrons and also the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The IAF will phase out the three squadrons of MiG-21 by 2024. The phasing out of the fleet of Jaguar jets — six squadrons — will start from 2025 and continue till 2032. By that time, the Mirage 2000 and MiG-29 fleets — three squadrons each — would be scheduled for phasing out, the IAF chief added.

The chief added, “With the given numbers (31 squadrons), it will be impossible to keep watch and do combat air patrol all across the country.” The target of 42 squadrons would remain even though it may take a decade to meet it, the IAF chief said.

‘Transforming for the Future’

The theme for this year’s anniversary celebrations – ‘IAF: Transforming for the Future’ — was very apt and highlighted the Indian Air Force’s need to redefine, reimagine and recalibrate to transform into a contemporary and future-ready force, the Air Chief said.

“Our fighting potential has to be sustained over the years through the induction of 4.5 Gen fighters, AWACS, AEW&C and flight refuelling aircraft. We have initiated necessary steps to ensure our fighter squadron strength remains at the desired level. Indigenous development of six AEW&C Mk-II has been sanctioned and we are actively pursuing the acquisition of ISTAR, UAVs, Counter UAS technology and strengthening our networks,” he said.

Modern armed forces, he said, have to be sufficiently self-reliant to ensure minimum disruptions. “Towards this, Atmanirbharta and Make-in-India are a step in the right direction. Our indigenous operational network AFNET, the backbone of all air operations IACCS, one of the largest maintenance management protocols e-MMS and the fact that we are completely paperless in our offices through the e-Office application is a testimony to our commitment towards becoming self-reliant,” he said.

The LCA, ALH, Akash surface-to-air missile, Astra BVR, LCH and Brahmos, he said, are a few examples of the indigenous hardware that has already been inducted and operationalised.

He said the IAF has signed a contract for 83 LCA Mk 1A and is fully committed to the development of LCA Mk-II and the AMCA.

“The advent of drones, swarm drones, hypersonic weapons and space based ISR systems have added a new dimension to war fighting. To effectively handle the full spectrum, artificial intelligence is being used for quicker decision-making and analysis of big data. I am happy to report that several projects are well underway to utilise the potential of automation, data analytics and artificial intelligence to transform our operational philosophy,” he said.

Phasing Out of Obsolete Aircraft

The Indian Air Force (IAF) maintains that its sanctioned strength of 42 fighter squadrons will remain sacrosant, even though its current numbers have fallen to 31 squadrons. In actual terms, 31 squadrons doesn’t mean “31 squadrons” because the availability ratio of some of the aircraft types was less than 50 percent.

With the growing presence of both Pakistani and Chinese Air Forces, for the IAF, quantity matters when it comes to the ability to operate in a large geographical area and persistence which refers to the ability to conduct 24×7 air patrols. However, even if the entire planned procurement happened without any glitch or time delays, the IAF may just about reach 35 squadrons, against a sanctioned strength of 42, by 2035-36.

Achieving the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons by 2036 is dependent upon the induction of the Tejas Mark 2, the indigenous 5th generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and 114 fighter aircraft for which a Request For Proposal (RFP) is still awaited.

Over the next 15 years, multiple squadrons would be phased out, starting with the three remaining MiG 21 Bison squadrons, which would be out of service by 2025. Following this, six squadrons of aging Jaguars would start being phased out as well, a process that will end by 2031-32. That is when the upgraded fleet of the Mirage 2000s and the MiG 29s will start getting phased out.

Last of the Remaining MiG-21s to Retire

The IAF is set to retire one of its four remaining squadrons of the ageing MiG-21 fighter jets on September 30. The other three MiG-21 squadrons will be phased out by 2025.

Several MiG-21s have crashed in recent years, with the accidents turning the spotlight on India’s longest-serving fighter plane, its safety record and IAF’s plans to replace the ageing jets with newer models in the coming years. Over 400 MiG-21s have been involved in accidents over the past six decades, killing around 200 pilots.

More MiG-21s have crashed than any other fighter jets because they formed the bulk of the combat aircraft in the IAF’s inventory for a long time. The air force had to keep its MiG-21 fleet flying longer than it would have liked because of delays in the induction of new aircraft, as previously reported.

The air force got its first single-engine MiG-21 in 1963, and it went on to induct 874 variants of the Soviet-origin supersonic fighters to bolster its combat potential.

IAF is inducting different variants of the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft to replace the MiG-21s.

Replacements Planned

The IAF has already ordered 83 LCA Tejas Mk 1A and plans to place an order for the Tejas Mk 2 as well besides the indigenous 5th Generation fighter aircraft, both of which are still in the design phase.

The IAF is keen on the 114 Medium Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) for which it is in the process of firming up the technical requirements, following which a “Request for Proposal (RFP)” would be sent out.

The tender has been pending for long. While initially it was felt that the government may go in for a strategic decision and enter into a government to government contract with France for more Rafale, it appears that the controversy surrounding the original deal has made the government wary. Hence, a decision has been taken to go in for a MRFA contest. The IAF is in the process of taking commitments from the vendors regarding the indigenization element.

IAF to Get New Weapon Systems Branch

Moving to synergise operational requirements of the Indian Air Force, the government has approved the creation of a new Weapon Systems branch which will be responsible for all IAF weapon system operators, and bring them under one roof. The announcement was made by the IAF chief on Air Force Day 8 October.

The Branch will cover four specialised streams of surface-to-surface missiles, surface-to-air missiles, remotely piloted aircraft and weapon system operators in twin and multi-crew aircraft. Creation of this branch will result in savings of over Rs 3,400 crore due to reduced expenditure on flying training.

The establishment of a separate branch for missile system operators, unmanned aerial vehicles and weapon system officers of two-seater aircraft is an effort to synergise operational requirements which differ from active flying. 

A specialised branch will facilitate induction of more complex weapon systems. The weapon systems operator in a twin-seater aircraft does not have to be a full-fledged pilot as his core competence is handling the weapons on board. It would do away with piecemeal deployment of officers from non-specialised branches and institutionalise the non-flying operational cadre. Pilots would be spared from doing the task, thereby making them available for flying duties. This separate branch is also expected to include officers who specialise as intelligence analysts and operate intelligence-gathering tasks in unmanned aerial vehicles as well as space-based assets. Here again, the need for building core competence in a separate branch has long been felt by the IAF brass, given the increasing role of UAVs and space assets in information gathering and advance warning.

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The IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, while addressing a press conference ahead of Air Force Day, answered multiple questions on the fighter jet fleet. He said 83 of the Tejas Mark 1-A are on order and the proposal to make 114 medium-range fighter aircraft (MRFA) in India has been finalised.

The foreign manufacturers in the MRFA project have been asked to have a greater “Make in India” commitment.

Another 10 planes of the first lot of 40 Tejas will be delivered this year. “The project to get 12 additional Sukhoi-30 MKI and 21 of the MiG-29 is deferred,” he added.

On further long-term projects, the IAF chief said the force was committed to the indigenous Tejas Mark 2 and is looking at six squadrons and also the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The IAF will phase out the three squadrons of MiG-21 by 2024. The phasing out of the fleet of Jaguar jets — six squadrons — will start from 2025 and continue till 2032. By that time, the Mirage 2000 and MiG-29 fleets — three squadrons each — would be scheduled for phasing out, the IAF chief added.

On being asked if there was ever a thought to reduce the number of authorised fighter jet squadrons from the present 42, the chief said, “With the given numbers (31 squadrons), it will be impossible to keep watch and do combat air patrol all across the country.” The target of 42 squadrons would remain even though it may take a decade to meet it, the IAF chief said.

On being asked what would be benchmark of normalcy along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, he said, “The benchmark will be to return to the status quo as on April 2020 and complete withdrawal all along the LAC.”

LCH to make debut at Chandigarh air show

Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), inducted into the Indian Air Force at Jodhpur on Monday, will make its debut at the Air Force Day parade in Chandigarh. The IAF announced that three LCH from the 143-helicopter unit, Jodhpur, will take off from Chandigarh to take part in the air show to be conducted over Sukhna Lake on October 8. Apart the LCH, the IAF will display jets such as Rafale, Sukhoi 30 MKI, MiG 29 and Mirage 2000.

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The MRFA deal entails the procuring of 114 modern multi-role fighters by the IAF to develop and advance its squadron. Cumulatively, the deal is amongst the largest purchase plans for fighter aircraft, valued at nearly $20 billion.

While the deal has been under discussion since 2018, the details are being deliberated by the Union government again. ThePrint had earlier reported that the deal is likely to head towards a split, with the government inclined to place orders for fighters in at least two batches.

This would entail 18 bought off the shelf, while another 36 would be manufactured in India through a joint venture. The order for the remaining 60 more would then be placed with the joint venture.

Even though French fighter craft Rafale is the frontrunner to win the mega deal, since its already in use by the IAF, four others are also in contention — Boeing’s F-15EX and F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet, Saab’s JAS-39 Gripen and Lockheed Martin’s F-21.

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.

ThePrint looks at the features of the fighters under discussion.

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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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.

“Recently, the Indian Air Force held meetings with the foreign vendors and asked them about the way they would carry out the Make in India project,” government sources told ANI.

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 sources said.

The last 60 aircraft would be the main responsibility of the Indian partner and the government would make payments only in Indian currency, the sources said.

The payment in Indian currency would help the vendors to achieve the over 60 per cent ‘Make-in-India’ content in the project, the sources said.

Global aircraft manufacturers including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Saab, MiG, Irkut Corporation and Dassault Aviation are expected to participate in the tender.

The Indian Air Force has to rely heavily on these 114 fighter jets for maintaining its superiority over the neighboring rivals Pakistan and China.

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 force 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, the sources said.

The IAF is highly satisfied with the operational availability of the Rafale fighter jets and wants similar capability in its future aircraft.

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‘Buy Global Make in India’ is a category of procurement process provided in the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 under Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to smoothen the acquisition of foreign weapon systems and their production within the country under the ‘Make in India’ in the defence programme.

Along with the indigenous LCA Tejas and the 5th Generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft project, the 114 MRFA project would also be required by the IAF to maintain an edge over both the Northern and Western adversaries.

Three American aircraft including the F-18, F-15 and F-21 (modified version of the F-16), Russian Mig-35 and Su-35 along with the French Rafale, Swedish Saab Gripen and the Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft are expected to participate in the programme.

The Indian Air Force had also sought the views of these companies on the acquisition procedure that they would like to opt for in the programme and most of them have shown a preference for the Buy Global Make in India route only, they said.

The sources said that the force has also sought directions from the government on the project and when it can move the project for clearance from the Defence Ministry for further action.

Sources said the two squadrons of the Rafale combat aircraft were fully functional with 35 aircraft which have already arrived from France and only one plane is left for delivery.

Sources said the IAF would certainly require a capability that is being provided by Rafale and more planes would be required as the two squadrons had only met the emergency requirements of the force.

The sources said that the two Rafale squadrons played a major role in containing the situation after the Chinese started aggression in the Northern sector in Ladakh and were operationalised within few weeks of their arrival and induction into the IAF.

The sources said the 83 LCA Mark 1A would help the IAF replace the MiG-series planes as the MiG-23 and the miG-27 have already been phased out and the MiG-21s are also on the verge of being phased out.

The 5th generation AMCA is expected to be rolled out soon by the Defence Research and Development Organisation but its induction and trials are expected to take at least five to seven years from now.

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