According to Alpha Defense, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to locally design and manufacture an Air-to-Air Refuelling Pod (ARP).
Published on September 2, 2026, the tender was launched under the DRDO’s Technology Development Fund (TDF) framework, inviting domestic industries and research organizations to submit their bids for the critical project.
The primary goal of this initiative is to create a homegrown aerial refuelling system capable of servicing multiple receiver fighter jets simultaneously, thereby eliminating India's reliance on foreign defence suppliers for sensitive aviation technology.
According to the tender's framework, the proposed system will be highly modular. A standard tanker configuration will feature up to three refuelling pods: two mounted on the aircraft's wings and an optional third pod attached to the fuselage.
Fuel will be drawn directly from the host aircraft’s internal tanks, and the entire transfer process will be managed by a dedicated technician from a central control station inside the plane.
Technical specifications indicate that the new pods are designed to operate flawlessly under dynamic flight conditions at altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 40,000 feet.
The system is expected to deliver a robust fuel transfer rate of up to 2,000 US gallons per minute.
To achieve this, the pods will utilize the traditional "hose-and-drogue" refuelling method, ensuring compatibility with the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) current fighter fleet and matching the methodology used by its existing Russian-origin Ilyushin Il-78 MARS tankers.
Strategically, this indigenous development opens the door for the IAF to convert standard heavy-lift transport planes—such as the Boeing C-17 Globemaster, Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules, or the eventual winner of the upcoming Medium Transport Aircraft (MTA) competition—into auxiliary mid-air refuellers.
By attaching these locally made pods to standard military transports, the IAF can rapidly deploy makeshift tanker fleets to sustain extended combat and deep-strike operations during wartime scenarios.
This domestic pod program is designed to supplement, rather than replace, India's broader tanker modernisation efforts.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) are already collaborating on a massive, ₹9,000 crore project to convert six pre-owned Boeing 767 commercial airliners into dedicated Multi-Mission Tanker Transports (MMTT) for the IAF.
While IAI will transfer technology and supply the primary refuelling systems for those Boeing 767s, the DRDO’s parallel project ensures India possesses a vital, homegrown backup solution to rapidly adapt tactical transport planes into refuellers whenever contingency demands it.
