Indian Air Force MMRCA 2.0 reflected at Aero India 2019

‘114’ on their minds !


Once more with feeling ! It is nearly a year since April 2018 when the IAF issued an RFI to procure 110 (actually 114) fighters of which 18 would be procured as flyaways and the balance to be built in India by a strategic partner/Indian production agency (SP/IPA). Three quarters of these would be single-seaters and the rest twin-seat aircraft. International companies who  reportedly responded to the RFI are Boeing (F-18 Super Hornet) ; Lockheed Martin (F-16), Saab (Gripen), Dassault Aviation (Rafale), the European Consortium (Typhoon), Mikoyan (MiG-35) and Sukhoi (Su-35), the latter having also entered the fray. 

These 114 fighters are being described by officials of the Indian Air Force as “filling the gap” between now and the time ahead when the Indian Air Force starts receiving the LCA Mk.IA and Mk.II in quantity (see separate article on Tejas).

The hopeful contenders to meet the IAFs requirement for new fighters were at Aero India 2019, in one form or the other. While Dassault brought its Rafales and Lockheed Martin showed off their F-16s, the Swedes had a full scale mockup of the Gripen outside Hall ‘C’ which had long lines of visitors patiently waiting to take a look. Saab also had a Gripen simulator amongst their exhibition which too attracted much attention. 

Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation was present at Aero India 2019 where three Rafales (a single-seat ‘C’ and two twin-seat ‘B’s) were showcased, along with the Falcon 2000S business jet, whose nose section is being produced by Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited at Nagpur and was also on display. The Rafale carried out thunderous flying display over Yelahanka several times each day even as the CEO let it be known that they were looking forward to many more Rafales in Indian skies. “100 Rafales would be a nice number” he said !

Rafale B of the French Air Force at Yelahanka

Even as Air Headquarters have assuredly sought additional information before moving to the next steps, most of the contenders were at Aero India 2019 on the eve of which there were several statements made by senior executives. Ola Rignell, Head of Saab India said that “except the first 18 aircraft, we intend to manufacture everything in India. Saab will look to build an ecosystem of defence manufacturing inside the country”.  Rignell highlighted the multi-role capability of the Gripen E which is “the most advanced multirole fighter designed to meet demanding operational requirements of Air Forces today”. 


Saab executives, including Mats Palmberg (second on the right), with retired senior IAF Air Marshals at the Saab stand.

In a dramatic announcement on first day of the Show, Lockheed Martin officially pronounced that the F-16 for India was now labeled as the F-21, which is “different – inside and out and specifically configured for the Indian Air Force”. Dr Vivek Lall, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development Lockheed Martin (image above) had also stated that “We see current demand outside of India of more than 200 aircraft. The value of those initial acquisition programs would likely exceed $20 billion”. 

F-16C of the USAF Pacific Air Forces Demonstration Team 


Also from America, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet is promoted as being the “most advanced aircraft of its kind in operation today … with a robust roadmap laid out to ensure that the F/A-18 Super Hornet is capable of dealing with future threats”.  The Super Hornet is being offered not only for the Indian Air Force but is a contender to meet the Indian Navy’s requirement for 57 carrier borne, multirole fighters.  This is the case too with Dassault’s Rafale, the Indian Air Force getting the F.3R Standard and the ‘M’ offered to the Indian Navy.

Boeing had a pair of F/A-18E Super Hornets on static display (from VFA-27 from Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni in Japan, seen above) and at their Press Conference reiterated their core strategy of a public-private partnership with HAL and Mahindra to build these fighters in an entirely new “factory of the future”. Boeing also highlighted their other programmes in India, the P-8(I) with the Navy, the Air Force operating the C-17 Globemaster III even as first batches of the CH-47F(I) Chinook and AH-64E Apaches are arriving in country.   

Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with RAC-MiG Director General

In his briefings at the Show, RAC-MiG Director General Ilya Tarasenko promoted the MiG-35 as “the most up-to-date aircraft in the world” and said the type would be built under licence by HAL in India should it be selected. Although there were no MiG-35s at Yelahanka, the Indian Air Force had an upgraded MiG-29 on static display even as news perculated about the Indian Government negotiating to buy 21 ‘surplus’ MiG-29s from Russia which would also be upgraded before entering service.    

MiG-29UPG of the Indian Air Force on static display during Aero India 2019