114 fighter aircraft to be procured under Make in India: Air Force Chief

New Delhi, Oct 6: Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said the IAF is taking forward the proposed procurement of 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) and that it would be carried out under the Make in India initiative. "114 MRFA project would definitely be under the Make in India program. what route will be taken for it would be for the defence acquisition council to decide," he said in the press conference.

 

 

Responding to a question on whether the Air Force was going to place orders for 36 more Rafale fighter aircraft, he said Rafale would be one of the contenders for the 114 aircraft tender and the service was very happy with its performance. He further said the IAF would meet its requirements for fifth-generation fighters through the DRDO developed Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft project.

 

Chaudhari said the force would also want to include fifth and sixth-generation technologies into the 114 multirole fighter aircraft program. When asked about the ISTAR project, the air chief said the aircraft would be developed with the United States of America under the technology cooperation between the two sides.

 

 

The top contenders for the deal include Lockheed Martin's F-21, Boeing's F/A-18, Dassault Aviation's Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian aircraft MiG 35 and Saab's Gripen.

 

It should be noted that 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. It was billed as one of the world's biggest military procurement programs in recent years.

 

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. The IAF chief said the force is looking at technologies for the aircraft that can integrate fifth and sixth generation technologies, adding the plan is to induct the AMCA by the early years of the next decade.

 

 

He said the IAF will not be able to reach the sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons in the next 10-15 years notwithstanding all the planned acquisitions. The Air Chief Marshal said the IAF would have 35 squadrons by the next decade with phasing out of old aircraft and induction of new ones.