New Delhi: Air Chief Marshal A P Singh said on Saturday that India is likely to finalise much‑awaited multi‑role fighter aircraft (MRFA) deal by the end of this financial year if plans materialise in time.
At a press conference ahead of Air Force Day, Singh said price negotiations and other critical issues on the proposed acquisition — estimated at about Rs 3.25 lakh crore — are under way.
India in February cleared the proposal to procure 114 Rafale fighter jets in the country’s largest-ever defence acquisition push. The deal was formulated under a government-to-government framework with France, nearly two decades after the plan was originally rolled out to boost the Indian Air Force’s combat prowess and expand India’s Rafale fleet.
The agreement once concluded would expand India’s total Rafale inventory to 176 aircraft, including the 36 Rafales already operated by the Indian Air Force, along with 26 Rafale-M fighter jets ordered by the Indian Navy for deployment aboard its aircraft carriers.
The Air Chief Marshal also floated the possibility of the force considering the procurement of another platform if the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme faces delays.
“Russia has offered us Su-57 jets, but no decision has been made on it,” he said.
Responding to a question on the depleting strength of fighter squadrons, Air Chief Marshal Singh said the Indian Air Force (IAF) requires at least 36 to 40 aircraft annually in the next few years.
India needs to further ramp up its air power, which remains crucial in the context of overall military strength.
“We have to have an AI-augmented force,” Singh said on modernisation of the force, adding that self-reliance is crucial for overall combat readiness.
The Chief of Air Staff underlined that India must produce a fighter jet engine in the country.
The deal with France to procure more Rafale fighter jets will help India establish a second fighter aircraft production line while also supporting greater indigenisation of defence manufacturing, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said in September.
“Even as we continue with the Rafale deal, the indigenous LCA Tejas Mark 1A programme will continue. It will be a spiral development model where we increasingly perfect it, fitting in indigenous radars that are better than global peers alongside indigenous weapons,” he stressed.
(IANS)
