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IAF tender for 126 fighters in two months
Tuesday, 01 May 2007, 19:30 IST
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is likely to float within two months a long-delayed global tender for 126 multi-role combat jets in a deal believed to be valued at around $9 billion (
370 billion).
"There are certain procedural issues that need to be resolved before we float a request for proposal (RFP) for the aircraft," an official said.
"This should happen in a month or two," the official told IANS, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The "issues" relate to areas like calculating life-cycle costs, the manner in which the offsets policy governing defence purchases will be implemented, and transfer of technology (TOT).
Under the offsets policy laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2006 (DPP-2006), 30 percent of all military deals worth more than 3 billion has to be reinvested in the country.
Calculating life-cycle costs is another challenge for India's defence planners since this aspect had never been factored in while concluding military hardware deals in the past. Seventy percent of the equipment in the armed forces' inventory is of Soviet or Russian origin.
As for TOT, India has not insisted on technology transfers in the past but this has now been made mandatory.
The IAF desperately needs new aircraft to ramp up its depleting fleet of Soviet-era MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft. While the MiG-21 has undergone a mid-life upgrade to increase its service life, the MiG-23 has already been retired, while the MiG-27 is being gradually phased out.
This apart, the indigenously developed Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) that was to replace these jets has suffered huge cost and time overruns and is now likely to be inducted by around 2012.
Thus, there are also indications that the defence ministry could fast track the process by issuing a RFQ (request for quotation) instead of a RFP.
"This will enable us quicken the process but a view on this is yet to be taken," the official stated.
A parliamentary panel has adversely remarked on the delaying in acquiring the new aircraft, slamming the "stereotyped" answers it has received on the issue.
Parliament's standing committee on defence has expressed its "deep concern on this stereotype reply being furnished by the ministry for the past 2-3 years and the same has not been turned into reality so far.
"The committee, therefore, desires that the ministry of defence should strive hard to expedite the completion of procedures and technicalities in order to facilitate the proposed acquisition of 126 aircraft," it said in its reported tabled in parliament on Saturday.
However, regardless of whether a RFP or a RFQ is floated, it could be at least five years before price negotiations with the selected manufacturer or manufacturers is concluded and another five years before the first of the new aircraft start arriving, the official said.
By that time, the IAF force levels would have further plummeted from their current all-time low of 30 squadrons and thus, the actual requirement could be for some 200 aircraft, a defence analyst pointed out.
The IAF was operating 39 1/2 squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 45 when a request for information (RFI) was sent out in 2001.
The race for the IAF order is believed to have narrowed down to five aircraft: the US F-16 and F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Swedish JAS-39 Grippen, the French Rafale, and the Russian Mig-29OVT.
The RFI had been sent out to the manufacturers of the F-16, the Gripen, the MiG-29, and the French Mirage-2000-5. In addition, the manufacturers of the F/A-18, the Rafale, and the four-nation European Typhoon also sent in their offers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his visit here in January, had plugged for the MiG-35, essentially a re-engineered version of the MiG-29.
Officials are tight-lipped about the selection process beyond saying the race seems to have narrowed down to five aircraft.
Source: IANS
370 billion).
"There are certain procedural issues that need to be resolved before we float a request for proposal (RFP) for the aircraft," an official said.
"This should happen in a month or two," the official told IANS, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The "issues" relate to areas like calculating life-cycle costs, the manner in which the offsets policy governing defence purchases will be implemented, and transfer of technology (TOT).
Under the offsets policy laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2006 (DPP-2006), 30 percent of all military deals worth more than 3 billion has to be reinvested in the country.
Calculating life-cycle costs is another challenge for India's defence planners since this aspect had never been factored in while concluding military hardware deals in the past. Seventy percent of the equipment in the armed forces' inventory is of Soviet or Russian origin.
As for TOT, India has not insisted on technology transfers in the past but this has now been made mandatory.
The IAF desperately needs new aircraft to ramp up its depleting fleet of Soviet-era MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft. While the MiG-21 has undergone a mid-life upgrade to increase its service life, the MiG-23 has already been retired, while the MiG-27 is being gradually phased out.
This apart, the indigenously developed Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) that was to replace these jets has suffered huge cost and time overruns and is now likely to be inducted by around 2012.
Thus, there are also indications that the defence ministry could fast track the process by issuing a RFQ (request for quotation) instead of a RFP.
"This will enable us quicken the process but a view on this is yet to be taken," the official stated.
A parliamentary panel has adversely remarked on the delaying in acquiring the new aircraft, slamming the "stereotyped" answers it has received on the issue.
Parliament's standing committee on defence has expressed its "deep concern on this stereotype reply being furnished by the ministry for the past 2-3 years and the same has not been turned into reality so far.
"The committee, therefore, desires that the ministry of defence should strive hard to expedite the completion of procedures and technicalities in order to facilitate the proposed acquisition of 126 aircraft," it said in its reported tabled in parliament on Saturday.
However, regardless of whether a RFP or a RFQ is floated, it could be at least five years before price negotiations with the selected manufacturer or manufacturers is concluded and another five years before the first of the new aircraft start arriving, the official said.
By that time, the IAF force levels would have further plummeted from their current all-time low of 30 squadrons and thus, the actual requirement could be for some 200 aircraft, a defence analyst pointed out.
The IAF was operating 39 1/2 squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 45 when a request for information (RFI) was sent out in 2001.
The race for the IAF order is believed to have narrowed down to five aircraft: the US F-16 and F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Swedish JAS-39 Grippen, the French Rafale, and the Russian Mig-29OVT.
The RFI had been sent out to the manufacturers of the F-16, the Gripen, the MiG-29, and the French Mirage-2000-5. In addition, the manufacturers of the F/A-18, the Rafale, and the four-nation European Typhoon also sent in their offers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his visit here in January, had plugged for the MiG-35, essentially a re-engineered version of the MiG-29.
Officials are tight-lipped about the selection process beyond saying the race seems to have narrowed down to five aircraft.
Source: IANS