The Indian Air Force is all set to initiate the process of one of its largest orders in recent years; acquiring a fleet of 110 fighter jets worth an estimated $15 billion. As per a statement on the defence ministry’s website, at least 85 per cent of the jets have to be made in India, in a major push to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' programme. Issue of the request for information (RFI) is the first step to acquiring the aircraft.
Later, a request for proposal (RFP) or a formal tender, to be followed by evaluations, technical trials, and commercial negotiations. Leading military aircraft producers, including US firms Lockheed Martin and Boeing, Sweden's Saab, and France's Dassault Aviation, are those contending for the mega deal. The deal is expected to be worth $15 billion. The statement said, “The Ministry of Defence, Government of India. Intends to procure fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force, which are to be made in India. The proposal is to procure approximately 110 fighter aircraft.” It added, “The procurement should have a maximum of 15 per cent aircraft in flyaway state and the remaining 85 per cent aircraft will have to be made in India” in collaboration with a strategic partner or an Indian production agency.
It means that the aircraft have to be jointly produced by a foreign aircraft maker along with an Indian company under the recently-launched strategic partnership model which aims to bring in high-end defence technology to India. “The aircraft are intended as day-and-night-capable, all-weather, multi-role combat aircraft” that can be used for air defence, reconnaissance, maritime, electronic warfare as well as refuelling missions.
While the Indian Air Force has a sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons, the actual strength is about 31 operational squadrons. Estimates suggest some 400 aircraft will go out of service in the next decade- many of them being the Russian-made MiG aircraft, backbone of the Indian Air Force. A source said, “So this request for information, which is the first step in the acquisition of new fighter aircraft, comes at a critical time.”
