IAF May Seek 24 Aircraft Annual Production in 114-Jet MRFA Tender, But It Has Financial Implications for Vendor and MoD

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is setting an ambitious pace for its Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) program, aiming to procure 114 advanced fighter jets with a significantly higher production rate than initially anticipated.

Sources indicate that the IAF is pushing for the production of 24 aircraft per year, a substantial increase from the previously considered rate of 10-14 units annually. This accelerated timeline, while aimed at rapidly bolstering India's defence capabilities, is expected to increase costs for winning vendor and Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The MRFA program, a critical component of the IAF's modernization efforts, seeks to address operational demands and strengthen defenses across multiple fronts. By accelerating production to 24 jets annually, the IAF aims to quickly integrate these advanced aircraft into its fleet, enhancing its combat readiness.

However, this increased production rate comes with significant financial implications. To meet this demanding target, the winning vendor will need to establish a robust local production infrastructure, potentially requiring larger facilities, additional tooling, and a larger workforce.

These factors will translate into increased capital investment for the MoD. Furthermore, the need for technology transfer, workforce training, and supply chain scaling will add to the overall program cost.

The proposed production target also presents operational and logistical challenges. Foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) will need to demonstrate the capacity to ramp up production to meet the IAF's requirements. This may prove challenging given India's current infrastructure and the need for seamless integration of the supply chain.

Maintaining stringent quality standards under an accelerated production timeline is crucial. Close coordination between the OEM and its Indian partners will be essential to ensure that quality is not compromised in the pursuit of rapid production.

Finally, the increased production rate could introduce additional regulatory hurdles, requiring close collaboration between Indian authorities and foreign partners to ensure compliance with defence manufacturing standards.

While the IAF's push for a higher production rate underscores the urgency of its modernization efforts, it also highlights the need for careful planning and execution to manage the associated costs and logistical challenges. The MRFA program remains a key focus for India's defence sector, and its outcome will significantly shape the IAF's capabilities in the coming decades.

 

[sanket]

MRFA is open Tender, Any Jet can b pitch From 5th Gen to 4,5 Gen , Earlier it was Restricted for only 4.5 Gen jet

 

[PKPRS]

MRFA is open Tender, Any Jet can b pitch From 5th Gen to 4,5 Gen , Earlier it was Restricted for only 4.5 Gen jet

there was news that SU-57 is going to be part of the lineup, let’s see.

 

[LEMON]

Top contenders in my opinion:

1. Rafale (agreed for production line in India).
2. EF Typhoon
3. F-15 eagle 2 ( Good service in America)
4. Gripen E ( SAAB is not a reliable partner)
5. F-21 ( Basically F-16 with better avionics and frame & radars) doesn't provide better edge ober Pak F16.

 

[मित्र]

I can see HAL + SU winning this, expanding current infra and little modification in existing production lines.

Probable deal b/w namo and putin. India can also get al-51. Cooperation on 5th gen can also be on plate.

I may be wrong, but there is a strong possibility of this.

 

[sanket]

there was news that SU-57 is going to be part of the lineup, let’s see.

I already said before too Fifth Gen Fighter jet should b allowed in MRFA Now Let see is US going to offer F-35 or not or US just hope to win F-21 by Just pressuring, Best Time for Bharat from not facing CAATSA ha ha ha Bharat can say US too can Pitched F-35/f-22

 

[Phantom]

there was news that SU-57 is going to be part of the lineup, let’s see.

possible, if one is not supplying engine everybody will follow, even though it’s a open tender, it will be like a interview conducted in Indian company’s, 100’s will attend the interview, but the owner will pick the predetermined candidate, right now in current scenario picking any jet other than from a historically preferred OEM is unsafe, there might be denial, sanctions and all kind of issues.

 

[Steel Mathi]

I think the situation is in favor of Su57...Doubt USA will supply India with F414 engine (ToT) and MQ9 drone...

Reasons

The biggest flaw in Russia's Su-57 at the moment was the out-of-plane engine blade. This was a major drawback to its stealth capability. With this, the Su57 can easily be caught on enemy aircraft's radar. Now the Russians have developed an alternative.

I can think of is that India is now doing covert actions that world powers are doing in other countries,

India will avoid US aircraft in MRFA tender and also reason India will not buy Stryker vehicle

china and India have reached an agreement,

BRICS alliance is about to move to the next level

India indirectly helps Russia's economy through fuel

In the current era, no single party comes to power for three consecutive terms in any democratic country, but if what happened in India continues in 2029, there is a fear that India will be involved in many actions

 

[मित्र]

Top contenders in my opinion:

1. Rafale (agreed for production line in India).
2. EF Typhoon
3. F-15 eagle 2 ( Good service in America)
4. Gripen E ( SAAB is not a reliable partner)
5. F-21 ( Basically F-16 with better avionics and frame & radars) doesn't provide better edge ober Pak F16.

Scaling to 24 jets per year is not easy thing. Who will get ready for it?

 

[Phantom]

I already said before too Fifth Gen Fighter jet should b allowed in MRFA Now Let see is US going to offer F-35 or not or US just hope to win F-21 by Just pressuring, Best Time for Bharat from not facing CAATSA ha ha ha Bharat can say US too can Pitched F-35/f-22

US won’t offer F-35, delaying engine is a symptom of a big issue that is going on related to Russia-India..

 

[sanket]

Scaling to 24 jets per year is not easy thing. Who will get ready for it?

Gripen, Dassault & Russia can go for it , not Just for Bharats MRFA but will exported from This Production Facility by starting production rate , I have alreay said under MRFA 24 per year production rate, My all word becoming true

 

[Spectre]

Top contenders in my opinion:

1. Rafale (agreed for production line in India).
2. EF Typhoon
3. F-15 eagle 2 ( Good service in America)
4. Gripen E ( SAAB is not a reliable partner)
5. F-21 ( Basically F-16 with better avionics and frame & radars) doesn't provide better edge ober Pak F16.

1) 42.4 years to clear the backlog of 390 jets 240+36+114 @12/year, extended delivery delays and Exorbitant price work against it
2,) future denial, sanctions
3) Same as 2)
4) same as 2/3 as engine could be denied
5) same as 2/3 and 4

 

[Shiva]

Government intellectuals already aware of every consequence of each decision.
They took a decision to follow tender process instead of preious process means, they have changed a decision to whom order should be given and which product needs to prioritize. and also they want some additional time, as they are in the process of doing some research which could pave a way for a better solution in case of success and in case of delay in success then will go with the tender option.
It is a foolish question, to ask if because of the tender, there is a delay in production rate.

 

[Anurag]

MRFA is open Tender, Any Jet can b pitch From 5th Gen to 4,5 Gen , Earlier it was Restricted for only 4.5 Gen jet

Open tender means IAF and MoD is going to negotiate for everything with everyone and see who's going to give us the best deal as per earlier reports Dassault was not agreeing for the ToT so now things are intresting if they are not going to pitch aggressively they might lose!!!

Rafale and Typhoon really have a backlog and how they are going to sort it out will be interesting too see while typhoon is in better position then rafale today!!

 

[sanket]

Open tender means IAF and MoD is going to negotiate for everything with everyone and see who's going to give us the best deal as per earlier reports Dassault was not agreeing for the ToT so now things are intresting if they are not going to pitch aggressively they might lose!!!

Any one wants to win MRFA on parameters will have to start production Line in Bharat with complete Eco-system MRO facilities , Autonomy in weapon Integration / Sensors /system Integration wheter it is Indigenous or Third party , and i lraedy said One who manufactures yearly 24 Jets would b winner & Export too from same plants But Now 5th Gen too would allowed dont Think Dassault can able to fullfill its order backlog from its plant in France if thy eant to win have to start production in Bharat with MRFA needs plus fullfilling order back log at the moments they have production rate of Just 13

 

[Manish Jha]

The best solution right now is to with any means, bring entire Mig 35 production facility to India and modify entire components of it with whatever indian components we have like GaN based Radar, avionics, Display, bombs, missiles etc.

The reason, I am saying this because Mig is on verg of getting shut down. It is really cheap. In the cost of one Rafael, we can built 3 Mig 35.

 

[Pad UwU]

Rafale and Typhoon really have a backlog and how they are going to sort it out will be interesting too see while typhoon is in better position then rafale today!!

Nope only rafale is the only one that has tones of backlog and they even suggesting that there are rising material cost too if I remember correctly 🙃😹

 

[Pad UwU]

I can see HAL + SU winning this, expanding current infra and little modification in existing production lines.

Probable deal b/w namo and putin. India can also get al-51. Cooperation on 5th gen can also be on plate.

I may be wrong, but there is a strong possibility of this.

Agree on this one but on al51 it's a new engine and we must negotiate a better ToT's license for it and we must price it big to get approval from them so we can manufacture or help us develop a indianize variant for it

 

[Pad UwU]

No other options 🙃😹 just go for su57 or su75 so we can deal a Indianize version of al51 engine 😺

 

[Akshat]

Open tender means IAF and MoD is going to negotiate for everything with everyone and see who's going to give us the best deal as per earlier reports Dassault was not agreeing for the ToT so now things are intresting if they are not going to pitch aggressively they might lose!!!

Rafale and Typhoon really have a backlog and how they are going to sort it out will be interesting too see while typhoon is in better position then rafale today!!

Open tender means everyone is welcome to participate, with some obvious conditions. First IAF will conduct the trials and then only negotiations will happen.

As for backlogs, numbers show that France actually has significant surplus production. Their own CEO has mentioned this.

 

[Akshat]

Nope only rafale is the only one that has tones of backlog and they even suggesting that there are rising material cost too if I remember correctly 🙃😹

Yes, they have backlogs which shows how good the plane is. But they still have huge surplus production and they are open for more orders, as their own CEO has mentioned,

 

[Akshat]

1) 42.4 years to clear the backlog of 390 jets 240+36+114 @12/year, extended delivery delays and Exorbitant price work against it
2,) future denial, sanctions
3) Same as 2)
4) same as 2/3 as engine could be denied
5) same as 2/3 and 4

1. Their backlog of Rafale is about 210 planes. They have gone to 24 jets per year, and will go to 36 per year from next year. And the deliveries have to be done by 2033-2034. So significant spare capacity. As for price, it has been the L1 in both the competitions so far, and it is cheaper than even Su30 mki (made in India though). So it is quite cheap in fact.

2, 3,4 and 5. Agreed.

 

[Akshat]

I can see HAL + SU winning this, expanding current infra and little modification in existing production lines.

Probable deal b/w namo and putin. India can also get al-51. Cooperation on 5th gen can also be on plate.

I may be wrong, but there is a strong possibility of this.

India has actively worked on removing Russia from its defense sources’ list. So highly unlikely. India doesn’t trust Russia right now and Russia isn’t willing to give us any technology. Ka 226 is a great example of this. India moving out of FGFA despite investing 100s of millions shows that we don’t want their jets anymore.

 

[Akshat]

I can see HAL + SU winning this, expanding current infra and little modification in existing production lines.

Probable deal b/w namo and putin. India can also get al-51. Cooperation on 5th gen can also be on plate.

I may be wrong, but there is a strong possibility of this.

Russia is far more untrustworthy right now. Ka226 T and FGFA are a great example. That’s why Modi government has actively worked on removing Russia from our arms’ market. So data is against them.

 

[Akshat]

I think the situation is in favor of Su57...Doubt USA will supply India with F414 engine (ToT) and MQ9 drone...

IAF has officially stated that we won’t be purchasing Su57 and Su75. IAF chief is on record saying this.

 

[Akshat]

The best solution right now is to with any means, bring entire Mig 35 production facility to India and modify entire components of it with whatever indian components we have like GaN based Radar, avionics, Display, bombs, missiles etc.

The reason, I am saying this because Mig is on verg of getting shut down. It is really cheap. In the cost of one Rafael, we can built 3 Mig 35.

And why would we want a plane which no one else in the world wants? Not even Russia?

 

[Anurag]

Open tender means everyone is welcome to participate, with some obvious conditions. First IAF will conduct the trials and then only negotiations will happen.

As for backlogs, numbers show that France actually has significant surplus production. Their own CEO has mentioned this.

Backlog almost every fighter has backlog apart from Gripen and F-15!!

Conducting trials for every jet will be time consuming process and it will take much longer time to evaluate every particular aircraft!!

Which numbers you are talking about that shows they have significant surplus production???
They are not even to achieve the target set by them of 24 aircraft per year!!

 

[Anurag]

Nope only rafale is the only one that has tones of backlog and they even suggesting that there are rising material cost too if I remember correctly 🙃😹

Well every fighter jet is going to be costly no doubt but personally I am prefer Rafale as it is already in IAF inventory and it is best in it's own class!!

well let's wait what are the conditions set by the MoD and IAF

 

[मित्र]

No other options 🙃😹 just go for su57 or su75 so we can deal a Indianize version of al51 engine 😺

Su-75 is only on papers right now. We can choose Su-57 and I can see lot of chances for it.

 

[Anurag]

Any one wants to win MRFA on parameters will have to start production Line in Bharat with complete Eco-system MRO facilities , Autonomy in weapon Integration / Sensors /system Integration wheter it is Indigenous or Third party , and i lraedy said One who manufactures yearly 24 Jets would b winner & Export too from same plants But Now 5th Gen too would allowed dont Think Dassault can able to fullfill its order backlog from its plant in France if thy eant to win have to start production in Bharat with MRFA needs plus fullfilling order back log at the moments they have production rate of Just 13

Well these conditions are already known by the each OEM it's not going to be tough task but setting production line of 24 jet per year surely something that will make it tough for everyone!! Well completing the project for India is going to be tough job exporting to others will be secondary and apart from Rafale no fighter has such huge backlog that will be seen manufacturing in the future!!