India – an emerging fighter market as the government gears up to float major tenders for fighter acquisition.

India, a growing regional power in the Indo-Pacific region, is fast emerging as a major fighter market for global aerospace companies. The country in an effort to address the short fallings of its forces is in the process of floating several multi-billion dollar fighter acquisition tenders.

For an emerging power such as India, aerial dominance is a key to project its power in the region and thereby to secure its sovereignty. The country’s fleet of both shore-borne and carrier-borne fighter aircraft which operate under the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy respectively, for years have provided it with unquestioned regional aerial dominance.

This however now is in question as the fighter fleet of the IAF and the Indian Navy faces an uncertain future. An aging and depleting fleet is threatening to rapidly bleed India off its aerial dominance. Successive failures and multiple delays in replacement programs have left a huge void in the operational capabilities of the forces.

The IAF, which is in-charge of maintaining the skies against aerial intruders, is left operating only 32 squadrons as against the mandated 42 squadrons. The navy after turning down the under development N-LCA aircraft, has no forthcoming replacement for its newest carrier – INS Vikrant – which is to be inducted by 2020.

Details of an acquisition program for fighter aircraft emerged in October, 2016, when India through its embassies approached global aerospace companies seeking their interest in locally manufacturing a single-engine fighter for the IAF. In January 2017, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar confirmed that India was indeed scouting for a single-engine fighter which would fly alongside the indigenously built LCA Tejas aircraft.

These single-engine fighters are the need of the hour considering the fact that under the IAF are at least 12 squadrons of aging MiG aircraft which are to be gradually retired by 2022. The IAF initially had planned to replace the MiGs with the Tejas aircraft under the now delayed LCA programme. These single-engine fighters serve as the frontline battle machines and are largely used for interdictory missions.

Even though MoD is yet to formally float a RFI (Request for Information), delegations from both Sweden based Saab and US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin – which remain the sole manufacturers of single-engine fighters – have approached India to offer their aircraft. While Saab AB is offering its Gripen – NG aircraft dubbed the ‘Smart Fighter’, Lockheed Martin is offering its legendry F-16 fighter.

The Saab Gripen and Lockheed Martine F-16 which are in contention to supply India with a single-engine multi-role fighter.
The companies with the aircraft have offered to transfer production lines and the technology, under the government’s celebrated ‘Make in India’ initiative.

These fighters which are powered by a single powerful jet engine are an exigent for the air force. It is these aircraft that act as the first line of defence and are in-charge of maintaining aerial dominance until the heavier aircraft such as the Rafales and Su-30 MKIs can take over the aerial battle.

A formal RFI followed by RFP for the aircraft is expected to be floated in the coming months. Parrikar has confirmed that program will require the global companies to downright select an Indian partner under the ‘Strategic Partnership’ model. The aircraft with the best technical and then the financial offering is expected to be shortlisted under the tender.

Even as global aerospace companies contemplated on a follow-up tender by the IAF for the now dead MMRCA tender, the Indian Navy has entered the fray. The navy in January, 2017 issued an RFI for acquiring at least three squadrons of multi-role carrier borne fighters.

The RFI has been floated with-in months of CNS Sunil Lanba confirming that his force had turned down the indigenously developed N-LCA aircraft following its failure to meet the requirements of the navy. The second aircraft now being sought by the navy will operate alongside the Russian origin MiG-29K fighters.

The RFI has specified that the need is for 57 multi-role carrier borne fighters (MRCBF) which are to operate from the current and future carriers of the Indian Navy. No specification has been made if the intended aircraft are to be a single-engine or twin-engine powered platform. The navy has also asked the companies if the acquired platform can effortlessly operate from both STOBAR and CATOBAR vessel.

In accordance to the RFI, the aircraft are required to perform Air Defence (AD), Air to Surface Operations, Buddy Refuelling, Reconnaissance and EW missions in all weather conditions. Interested aircraft manufacturers are expected to reply to the RFI by May, 2017, quoting the capabilities of the aircraft and their initial financial bids.

While Dassault Aviation with its Rafale – M leads the fray, US based Boeing is confident of heating up the market with its proven and reliable F-18 Super Hornet aircraft. With IAF acquiring 36 Rafales, if the navy does opt for the naval version of the aircraft, it may reduce the logistics and maintenance costs.

However, the Rafales are new entrants to carrier operations and largely remain under-proved technology. Boeing’s F-18 is one of the most produced, used and advanced carrier-borne aircraft and this may stiffen the competition for the Rafale – M. Sweden based Saab has also aired its interest in offering its ‘Sea Gripen’ fighter –a variant of the Gripen – NG aircraft – to India. Saab plans to jointly manufacture these fighters with Indian developmental agencies.

Another expected tender that is being hotly debated is for twin-engine multi-role medium fighter aircraft. The IAF suffered a major blow when its plans to acquire 126 Rafale aircraft crashed midway after the NDA government scrapped the MMRCA tender in 2016.

These twin-engine aircraft which are capable of carrying heavier payloads and flying deep into enemy territory can inflict punitive strikes on hostile strategic targets. With the MiG-27 and Jaguar ground-strike aircraft facing imminent retirement and the air force turning down additional orders for Su-30 MKIs, these twin-engine fighters have emerged as an exigent need for the air force.

Outgoing Air Chief Arup Raha in his valedictory press meet had confirmed that the air force needed at least 200-250 fighters in the medium category over the next decade. The now retired Air Chief Marshal also confirmed that any tender floated for these aircraft would be open for global companies and the winner of MMRCA tender – Dassault Aviation – would not be favoured.

This has left the doors wide open for global aerospace companies such as Dassault, Boeing, Euro fighter and the Mikoyan. The Euro Fighter consortium however, has virtually backed out of the Indian market after repeated failures. French based Dassault Aviation with its Rafale leads the fray, but as the Indo-US relations mature, Boeing with its lucrative offer for the F-18 Advanced Super Hornet may back the tender thereby increasing its footprint in India.

Over the next decade, India is expected to shell out several hundred billion dollars for acquiring these aircraft. These tenders not only promise to provide India with reliable aircraft but also with capabilities and the technical base and the know-how to build these aircraft. The capabilities acquired under these tenders can then be reciprocated for developing indigenous products under the AMCA program and the LCA program.

 

 

 

 

 

© Karthik Kakoor

Source:- Life Of Solider

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