IAF May Propose Limiting MRFA Tender to Pre-Qualified OEMs to Expedite Procurement of 110 Advanced Fighter Jets

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is reportedly planning to recommend a significant change to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) regarding the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) tender.

This proposed change involves streamlining the Request for Proposal (RFP) by limiting it to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that already comply with the IAF's stringent operational and technical requirements.

This move is aimed at accelerating the acquisition of 110 advanced fighter jets, a crucial program designed to bolster the IAF's dwindling combat fleet. The MRFA tender, launched as a successor to the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) program, seeks to procure 110 multi-role fighters under the Buy Global – Make in India initiative. The MMRCA program, initially intended to acquire 126 fighter jets, was ultimately scaled back and resulted in the purchase of 36 Dassault Rafale jets.

The IAF's decision to prioritize pre-qualified OEMs is driven by the need to avoid potential delays associated with evaluating platforms that may not meet the required operational and technical standards.

The IAF's authorized strength of 42 combat squadrons has been steadily declining and currently stands at approximately 31 squadrons. This decline is further compounded by the phasing out of older aircraft like the MiG-21.

While indigenous platforms such as the Tejas Mk1A and the forthcoming Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) are part of the IAF's modernization plans, they cannot fully address the immediate need to maintain operational readiness. The MRFA tender is therefore considered vital to ensuring that the IAF retains a credible deterrent capability against potential adversaries.

This strategic shift in the MRFA tender reflects the IAF's commitment to modernizing its fleet efficiently and effectively in the face of evolving geopolitical challenges.

 

[Akshat]

The biggest difference between these jets will be the weapons. In this, the US has a substantial lead especially in ground attack.

One of the more advanced and interesting is the new Raytheon Stormbreaker, a 100 kg/100km range glide bomb with AI-fused radar/IR/laser terminal guidance. Because of the bomb's small size, a large jet like an F-15 can carry 28 Stormbreakers (F-35 carries 8 internally and 8 externally). Over half SDB II's weight is a blast-fragmentation shaped-charge warhead effective against pretty much anything on the battlefield.... troops, moving vehicles including MBTs, buildings, even surface warships. Cost is about $200,000.

A second is the upcoming BAE Systems QUICKSINK, an anti-ship glide munition conversion kit for a 2000 lb. iron bomb. The bomb is guided to strike below the target ship's waterline (thus, "QUICKSINK"). Cost unknown, but JDAM-type weapons are notably cheap.

Of course, jets from US allies like Korea and France can be certified to carry most any American weapons. India would need to cover the integration costs.

US has a lead in ground attack. But Europe has a massive lead in A2A weapons, especially the unbeatable Meteor. And A2A is the gonna be the main role for these planes as we already have many other planes like Mirages, Jaguars and even su30 MKI for the ground attack role.

On the other hand, at least Dassault already has agreed to integrate Indian weapons as part of the older deals themselves. So the cost will be way down if these weapons are ordered as part of the weapons package.

 

[Akshat]

This deal isn’t going to happen because by the time we will ever receive a jet from dassault themselves it will take 3-5 years. Even longer if we made a deal to manufacture it locally.

By that time we would have started to receive the Tejas MK2 prototypes and it would be undergoing its tests from this year. Also more Tejas MK1A jets will start arriving as we receive the engines and production picks up pace.

Lol...Dassault actually exceeded it's own guidance last year. As for Tejas Mk2, we will only roll out prototypes in the next 3 years. First flight itself is years away. And regarding Mk1A, where are the trainers for which engines had already been given? So engines isn't the issue, HAL is.

 

[Akshat]

F 18 would be a better option. As it also uses the same engine GE F414 as we are using for Tejas Mk2.
But they must allow us to install our own Radar (Uttam Radar) and our own transmitter/ receiver systems - so that we can use our wheapons like SaaW, Rudram, Brahmos on them.

F18 is way too expensive. Remember, Rafale defeated it in the naval tender. And no one is actually making Rafale M for now. So some components will be custom made for Indian Navy order. And Rafale M still defeated F18. So imagine the cost difference for IAF.

As for our own weapons, I don't think anyone is gonna allow Brahmos. But Dassault has already started integrating Astra and SAAW on Rafale as part of the older deal. We might see a few more as part of the Naval deal. So all that cost will be saved further with more Rafale as compared to F18.

 

[Sandeep]

There is no engine shortage delaying the Tejas program. GE has delivered 75 or more F404s. Tejas airframes number only about 40 so far.

Not the same variant that we need for the latest Tejas MK1A jets. All previous engines sold so far produce a lower amount of thrust, uses old technology, low flight number and a lower lifespan compared to the latest variant of GE 404 IN20

 

[Akshat]

Standardize on F-15EX. Buy no other non-stealth jets. Do whatever is required to get F-35A, even if that means scrapping S-400. Keep whatever part of Tejas is necessary to maintain an aviation culture. The Indian Air Force is in a shocking state. Seeing China flying 5.5 gen technology demonstrators, while India flails around with Tejas, should rightly scare every Indian into calling for immediate action.

F15 is way too expensive buddy. IAF will most likely stick to Rafale, unless F35 are offered without the F15 or F21 or F18 condition. Which is unlikely.

 

[Avada kedavra]

Negotiated on Chinese terms? 🤣🤣🤣India threw them out and they are forced to accept Indian terms bro. Complete de-escalation, as demanded by India. Followed by Status quo ante. Of course, they have agreed on paper for now and implementation is an ongoing process.

Threw them out? Are u sure about that. Experts like ajay shukla gen hs panag and many are pointing out that indias effective patrolling points have been reduced. A new buffer completely on the indian side has been imposed.
And in exchange for gains in ladakh it seems some points in arunachal were also given away.

 

[Jan Rodricks]

Not the same variant that we need for the latest Tejas MK1A jets. All previous engines sold so far produce a lower amount of thrust, uses old technology, low flight number and a lower lifespan compared to the latest variant of GE 404 IN20

No sir. Tejas Mk.1 and Mk.1A use the same F404-IN20. No special version exists for IA.

 

[Avada kedavra]

Buy Su-57 with new AL-41 engine.

India walked out of its development program due to its poor stealth attributes unreliable engine and lack of access to main research data.

its a junk airplane.
It will be embarrasing for IAF to buy a plane they rejected a decade ago.

 

[Akshat]

Threw them out? Are u sure about that. Experts like ajay shukla gen hs panag and many are pointing out that indias effective patrolling points have been reduced. A new buffer completely on the indian side has been imposed.
And in exchange for gains in ladakh it seems some points in arunachal were also given away.

Yes, I am very much sure. The buffer in fact is more on the Chinese side than the Indian side. Literally no an inch has been lost. Of course, some points on both the sides have been made unavailable to the other side for patrolling (after the agreement is fully implemented). This is true for India as well as the Chinese. These points might be made available later on. But no point which was under Indian control has been given away and Chinese have agreed to back off.

 

[Sandeep]

Lol...Dassault actually exceeded it's own guidance last year. As for Tejas Mk2, we will only roll out prototypes in the next 3 years. First flight itself is years away. And regarding Mk1A, where are the trainers for which engines had already been given? So engines isn't the issue, HAL is.

Dassault has a long backlog of jets it needs to deliver so we won’t receive any new jets for a long time and how long it will take will be clear based on the naval variant that we will buy.

With Tejas MK2 we will roll out four jets for testing and while testing them we will start preparing to start production after five years after its first flight.

The engines used for MK1A frontline jets are the latest GE404 IN20 version which produces more thrust, gives more hours and a higher lifespan than the other variants. Also they have produced a few trainers and they can use an older variant of the F404 engine which is more cheaper. The older engine can also be used temporarily until the latest engine arrives. Also there are delays in production but they will fix these teething issues.

 

[Dredd]

Yes, I am very much sure. The buffer in fact is more on the Chinese side than the Indian side. Literally no an inch has been lost. Of course, some points on both the sides have been made unavailable to the other side for patrolling (after the agreement is fully implemented). This is true for India as well as the Chinese. These points might be made available later on. But no point which was under Indian control has been given away and Chinese have agreed to back off.

The whole point is what was under Indian control. The definition is vague on this. The China and Indian claim lines are different, and both assert their claim using patrolling, which is now controlled or monitored. Indian shepherds cannot access the buffer zone, which was the case earlier. China wants India to give up its claim on Aksai Chin so that they can focus on Arunachal Pradesh.

 

[Sandeep]

No sir. Tejas Mk.1 and Mk.1A use the same F404-IN20. No special version exists for IA.

India uses an older version like the GE404 2J3 engines for its pilot trainer or for any technology research and the latest version for its MK1A jet is the GE404 IN20 which was mainly developed for India only.

 

[divine]

The falsehood of high F-35 life-cycle costs is due almost entirely to its very long lifespan (until 2088 in USAF service). That's at least 25 years longer than any 4th gen competitor (without including survivability on wartime). F-35 saves money by having high fidelity simulators that reduce training costs. F-35's AI is far more survivable in wartime, lowering attrition and thus requiring fewer replacements.

Russia doesn't have the capacity to build or support a modern air force for itself, much less India. Su-57 is just more updated Soviet era airframes (should've been called Su-39).

It's not true, the flight time is linked to the many problems of maintenance of the aircraft and the exorbitant cost of engine maintenance, which are in short supply and still not sufficiently developed. It is the U.S. who are complaining themselves; see the many reports of the GAO. Moreover, I would add that not so long ago, the U.S. Army had refused to accept aircraft until the problems of updating were resolved!

 

[Arin Kumar]

F18 is way too expensive. Remember, Rafale defeated it in the naval tender. And no one is actually making Rafale M for now. So some components will be custom made for Indian Navy order. And Rafale M still defeated F18. So imagine the cost difference for IAF.

Rafale cost us 220 Euros per plane. (7.87 Billion/36 Rafales) I don't know how much an F 18 will cost.

 

[Akshat]

The whole point is what was under Indian control. The definition is vague on this. The China and Indian claim lines are different, and both assert their claim using patrolling, which is now controlled or monitored. Indian shepherds cannot access the buffer zone, which was the case earlier. China wants India to give up its claim on Aksai Chin so that they can focus on Arunachal Pradesh.

I am not talking about claims, but actual administration. So whatever was under our administration stays with us. In some areas where the Chinese were patrolling in Indian territory and Indians were patrolling in Chinese territories, access of both the sides have been reduced. So that is true in both directions. Shephards might get access later on. And China of course wants all the disputed areas, so do we. That is never gonna change and both sides will keep doing a tango with that till the time it's settled. So nothing new.

 

[Akshat]

Dassault has a long backlog of jets it needs to deliver so we won’t receive any new jets for a long time and how long it will take will be clear based on the naval variant that we will buy.

With Tejas MK2 we will roll out four jets for testing and while testing them we will start preparing to start production after five years after its first flight.

The engines used for MK1A frontline jets are the latest GE404 IN20 version which produces more thrust, gives more hours and a higher lifespan than the other variants. Also they have produced a few trainers and they can use an older variant of the F404 engine which is more cheaper. The older engine can also be used temporarily until the latest engine arrives. Also there are delays in production but they will fix these teething issues.

Well Dassault has a backlog but it doesn't have to clear all that backlog in a day. The deliveries are scheduled to last till 2034. So they only have to make about 20 planes this year and 22 planes every year till then. They are already making 2 planes per month since April last year (for a total of 21 jets in 2024). So they are already well ahead of their target. And they are going to make 3 planes monthly from next month. In fact, they actually exceeded their own target of 20 planes this year. So they will have a huge surplus production capacity.

As for Tejas Mk2, it's not gonna come for at least 2 decades. Tejas took 13 years for roll out. And then took 20 more years for first production aircraft. Assuming Mk2 is rolled out this year, it will be 20 years since the project started. So it is taking 55% longer than Tejas. So why do you think HAL will cut down the time for tests and production by 75%? Even if you blame the UPA, then also Mk2 will take about 12 years under the NDA alone. So that's almost as much as Tejas. So no way we are seeing production aircraft till 2045 at the very least. Might take longer.

I know all that. My point is that the Tejas Mk1 trainers, which were ordered with the original order of 40 planes, haven't been delivered. The engines for those have already been delivered. In 2020. So no, HAL can't fix the problems and till the time HAL stays nothing will change.

 

[Akshat]

Rafale cost us 220 Euros per plane. (7.87 Billion/36 Rafales) I don't know how much an F 18 will cost.

More than Rafale. IN chief clearly stated that both F18 and Rafale met their operational requirements and MoD will make the choice. The only parameter for that was cost. So whatever is the final cost for Rafale M, F18 was costlier than that.

 

[Enforcer]

The Amount of comments that are lodged whenever Air Force and fighter jet is mentioned tells me just how frustrated indians are regarding those topics. I can feel the pain of not having an adequate air force.

Cancel MRFA and buy 100 F-35. Corruption is very much legal in America. Its called "Campaign Donation". Just look up AIPAC and learn how Israel gets what it wants. BTW Israel is not part of Nato either.

 

[obiwankenubi jedi]

are you going to do an F-35 deal with the USA? Trump is here now, he is a pure businessman. If India gets 3 squadrons of F-35s, it is more than enough.

S-400 Problem

 

[Enforcer]

S-400 Problem

S-400, the system that gets shot down by Ukrainians quite frequently. While I have known about the ability of russian junk for a while, Ukraine war has finally exposed all russian junk out in the open with video footage.

Meanwhile it would have been better if we had bought Patriot missiles. Whole world saw them shooting down Ballistic missiles from Iran.

I just love how 2 simultaneous wars in Israel and Ukraine show stark contrast between the western equipment and russian junk. American equipment is dominating mullas across the world while Russians are loosing their own territory in Kursk and thousands of lives of their soldiers.

 

[Senthil Nathan]

Best thing is to buy another 36 Rafael fighters by G2G and 50 SU57 with integration of indigenous weapons and use our own stealth coating recently found by our IIT experts

 

[subrat beura]

Buying F35 through MRFA is the only wise decision & other options are for commission business

 

[PKPRS]

F16/F21 production line is soon coming here, we need a lot of cheap 4th gen single engine jets at-least 400-500, besides getting 5th gen jets, Tejas MK2 will take more time, so I think Tata will start making F21 first before jumping to Tejas MK2, LM might be helping with AMCA, we might get a 1-2 squadrons of SU-57, this is how I picturize our future.

 

[Jan Rodricks]

US has a lead in ground attack. But Europe has a massive lead in A2A weapons, especially the unbeatable Meteor. And A2A is the gonna be the main role for these planes as we already have many other planes like Mirages, Jaguars and even su30 MKI for the ground attack role.

On the other hand, at least Dassault already has agreed to integrate Indian weapons as part of the older deals themselves. So the cost will be way down if these weapons are ordered as part of the weapons package.

AIM-174B has twice or more the range of Meteor based on its known range as a naval missile. AIM-260 estimated at 1.5X range of AMRAAM-D, and AIM-120D/Meteor believed about equal. The '-D' is a complete redesign and has the longest range A2A intercept in history (per USAF). New Peregrine is half the space/weight of AMRAAM/Meteor with similar performance.

F/A-18F Block III Super Hornet with four AIM-174B, two AMRAAMs, two Winders, an ATFLIR, and optical sensor:

 

[rahul]

Please, not this drama again...are you going to do an F-35 deal with the USA? Trump is here now, he is a pure businessman. If India gets 3 squadrons of F-35s, it is more than enough. Then totally focus on AMCA and other indigenous programs. Work on the war front. I am damn sure the Indian government still hasn't asked the USA for F-35s. There is no reason that the USA will not give India F-35s. Unfortunately, the biggest blunder was done by the IAF by not giving an extra Rafale order after 36 Rafales.

Per aircraft cost of Rafale is very high, diff to convince Govt. Moreover, delivery will start after several years, maybe even 10. Order book of Rafale is big. We can't wait that long.