Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday announced that the Indian Air Force (IAF) will proceed with the procurement of 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA) under the Make in India initiative.

A request for information (RFI), or an initial tender, was issued by the IAF in April 2019 to acquire 114 jets at a cost of around USD 18 billion. Among the biggest military procurement programs in the past decade, it garnered a lot of attention.

Speaking at a press conference before Air Force Day on October 8, the IAF Chief said responses to the RFI have been received from several aerospace firms and that the acquisition process has now moved forward. In response to a question on the mega procurement, he said, "The project would be under the Make in India initiative... We are moving the case forward."

The most competitive contenders for the contract are Lockheed Martin's F-21, Boeing's F/A-18, Dassault Aviation's Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and Russian aircraft MiG 35 and Saab's Gripen.

Chief of Air Staff Arjun Khare suggested that the Rafale could be considered for the MRFA project when asked whether the IAF would acquire 36 additional aircraft.  Former IAF Chief RKS Bhadauria said last year that acquiring additional Rafale jets will not be ruled out, and that the aircraft have provided the Indian Air Force with an operational edge to engage "deeply and hardly".

According to some military officials, at least four Rafales should be assigned to the IAF to deal with operational aspects. Squadrons consist of 18 aircraft.

The acquisition of 114 low-wing fighters under the MRFA project and 83 LCA Tejas will support the IAF considerably in the face of the gradual reduction in the number of fighter squadrons caused by the migration to the MiG 29 and MiG 29K. According to one of the military men, the IAF is fully committed to the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project.

The country is also working on a USD 5 billion project to build a medium-weight deep penetration fighter jet of the fifth generation to greatly enhance its air power. According to the IAF chief, the aircraft will be inducted towards the early years of the next decade, integrating fifth and sixth generation technologies.

Image source: ANI