India to issue RFPs to buy 125 aircraft in a month : IAF
Maintaining that "F-16s are very much in contention", Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi today said the Government is expected to issue Request for Proposals (RFPs) to prospective parties on purchasing 125 fighter aircraft in a USD five billion contract
"I think within a month's time, RFPs will go," the Air Chief Marshal told reporters here on the sidelines of a function at Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment.
Jets being reportedly considered for purchase are the Lockheed Martin's F-16 from the US, France's Mirage 2000, the MiG-29 from Russia and the Swedish Gripen.
Asked about the possibility of F-16s bagging the deal, he said: "That possibility exists. Of course, we have asked them for information; so, it's very much in contention."
Asked if provision would be made in this year's Union budget for buying the aircraft, the Chief of Air Staff said: "It will take a long time to sign the contract. We are not buying potatoes and vegetables. Are we ? It's a USD five billion deal. It won't happen in a day."
He termed the recent second Indo-US air exercise at the IAF's Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal a "great learning process". "From military point of view, it's a great learning process; they (Americans) learnt from us and we learnt from them."
"We get to exercise with different kind of equipment..We have exercised F-16s and AWACs; that's the big advantage to India," Air Chief Marshal Tyagi, who described F-16s as "decent aircraft", said.
He denied that he called Pakistan the enemy number one of India. Pakistan is a security challenge and it's not a secret, he said.
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Thanks,
Miro
Maintaining that "F-16s are very much in contention", Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi today said the Government is expected to issue Request for Proposals (RFPs) to prospective parties on purchasing 125 fighter aircraft in a USD five billion contract
"I think within a month's time, RFPs will go," the Air Chief Marshal told reporters here on the sidelines of a function at Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment.
Jets being reportedly considered for purchase are the Lockheed Martin's F-16 from the US, France's Mirage 2000, the MiG-29 from Russia and the Swedish Gripen.
Asked about the possibility of F-16s bagging the deal, he said: "That possibility exists. Of course, we have asked them for information; so, it's very much in contention."
Asked if provision would be made in this year's Union budget for buying the aircraft, the Chief of Air Staff said: "It will take a long time to sign the contract. We are not buying potatoes and vegetables. Are we ? It's a USD five billion deal. It won't happen in a day."
He termed the recent second Indo-US air exercise at the IAF's Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal a "great learning process". "From military point of view, it's a great learning process; they (Americans) learnt from us and we learnt from them."
"We get to exercise with different kind of equipment..We have exercised F-16s and AWACs; that's the big advantage to India," Air Chief Marshal Tyagi, who described F-16s as "decent aircraft", said.
He denied that he called Pakistan the enemy number one of India. Pakistan is a security challenge and it's not a secret, he said.
Link
Thanks,
Miro
spolied my sleep..
