India preparing to reduce the number of Rafale fighter jets, France gets a shock, will the new procurement policy solve the Air Force’s problem?

Considering the needs of the Air Force, India can make a big change in its MRFA (Multi Role Fighter Aircraft) program. Under the MRFA program, India had planned to buy 114 advanced fighter aircraft. But now that China has two types of fifth generation fighter aircraft (J-20, J-35) and Pakistan is going to buy J-35 from China, India is thinking of seriously changing its strategy. India had earlier decided to issue a tender for the MRFA program. But now there are signs of a big change in India’s strategy. According to the latest reports, the Indian Defense Ministry is now considering entering into an agreement to buy fighter aircraft at the government-to-government level instead of issuing a tender. The purpose of this change is to prepare a strong roadmap for the future while meeting the immediate needs of the Indian Air Force.

According to the report, the 114 fighter aircraft that were to be purchased earlier under the MRFA program will now be divided into two parts. That is, India will now buy 60 advanced Rafale-F4 fighter aircraft directly from France through government-to-government talks. Apart from this, India will buy the rest of the fifth generation fighter aircraft. Recently, Indian Defense Secretary RK Singh had said that India is seriously considering buying fifth generation fighter aircraft from a friendly country. However, he did not tell which is that friendly country? Looking at the needs of the Air Force, India can make a big change in its MRFA (Multi Role Fighter Aircraft) program. Under the MRFA program, India had planned to buy 114 advanced fighter aircraft. But now that China has two types of fifth generation fighter aircraft (J-20, J-35) and Pakistan is going to buy J-35 from China, India is thinking of seriously changing its strategy. India had earlier decided to issue a tender for the MRFA program. But now there are signs of a big change in India’s strategy. According to the latest reports, the Indian Defense Ministry is now considering entering into an agreement to buy fighter planes at the government-to-government level instead of issuing tenders. The purpose of this change is to prepare a strong roadmap for the future while meeting the immediate needs of the Indian Air Force.

According to the report, the 114 fighter planes that were to be purchased earlier under the MRFA program will now be divided into two parts. That is, India will now buy 60 advanced Rafale-F4 fighter planes directly from France through government-to-government talks. Apart from this, India will buy the rest of the fifth generation fighter planes. Recently, Indian Defense Secretary RK Singh had said that India is seriously considering buying fifth generation fighter planes from a friendly country. However, he did not tell which is that friendly country?

India will buy Rafale and fifth generation aircraft

India has only two friend countries that make fifth generation fighter planes. America operates F-35 stealth fighter jets while Russia flies SU-57 fighter planes. In such a situation, India has only these two options. This step is important for India because at present the Indian Air Force has only 31 squadrons, whereas it needs at least 42 squadrons at any cost. India is also working on its own fifth generation fighter aircraft project AMCA, but it is going to take at least 10 years to be built and till then relying on AMCA was considered a risky strategy. That is why it is being considered to equip at least 2 squadrons with fifth generation fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

According to the report, Dassault Aviation, the French company that makes Rafale, wanted India to buy at least 110 Rafale F4. Let us tell you that Rafale F4 is the next generation of the existing Rafale and except for stealth capability, it is almost close to fifth generation fighter aircraft. The United Arab Emirates has also signed an agreement with France to buy more than 100 Rafale F4 and delivery is also going to start from next year. On the other hand, India will now talk about buying only 60 Rafale F4, most of which are being talked about to be assembled in India under Make in India. For this, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) has also recently got the contract to manufacture the fuselage of Rafale.

India’s emphasis on indigenization of fighter planes

Operation Sindoor has made it clear how important it is to achieve self-reliance in terms of weapons. Therefore, India’s aim is that the Indian Air Force can gain advanced level experience in stealth technology and electronic warfare. This will make the Indian Air Force more technically prepared before inducting the indigenous AMCA into the Air Force in the future. Apart from this, the Indian Defense Ministry is now also emphasizing on the integration of avionics, electronic warfare systems and weapons made in India, so that along with cutting costs, the indigenous defense industry gets a new flight. That is, in the next 2 years, the Indian Air Force fleet will have 60 more advanced Rafale F4 fighter planes as well as fifth generation fighter planes.