India to acquire 200 fighter jets for Indian Air Force: Defence secretary

[Pakistani Fighter]

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India to acquire 200 fighter jets for Indian Air Force: Defence secretary

PTI | Updated: Jan 13, 2020, 04.15 PM IST

Wikipedia
Ajay Kumar said that the contract for the LCAs will be signed "definitely this year".

KOLKATA: The government is in the process of acquiring around 200 aircraft to cope with the depleting aerial inventories of the Indian Air Force, defence secretary Ajay Kumar said here on Sunday.

The contract for Hindustan AeronauticsLimited-manufactured 83 LCA Tejas Mark 1 A advanced fighter jets are in the final stages, he said.

Apart from these, Expression of Interest (EOI) has been floated for another 110 aircraft, based on which Request for Proposal (RFP) will be floated, Ajay Kumar said.


"Roughly (for) 200 aircrafts, the acquisition is in process," he said.

"We are in the process of finalising the contract for 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark 1 A, which are advanced fighters to meet the urgent needs of India," the defence secretary told reporters on the sidelines of commissioning Indian Coast Guard vessels here.

Kumar said that the contract for the LCAs will be signed "definitely this year".


"We want to do it as soon as possible," the defence secretary said when asked whether a time frame has been finalised by which the new aircraft are to be acquired.

Kumar said that with the design having been finalised, state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will be ramping up production of the LCA Mark 1 A jets from 8 to 16 per year.

"If required, through outsourcing, we can further enhance it," he said.


The Air Force has Sukhoi 30 MKIs, Mirage 2000s, Mig 29s and the ageing Jaguars and Mig 21 Bisons in its inventory of fighter jets at present.

The last fleet of seven swing-wing MiG-27 fighters, which played an important role during the 1999 Kargil war, was decommissioned on December 27, 2019.

 

[Pakistani Fighter]

Apart from these, Expression of Interest (EOI) has been floated for another 110 aircraft, based on which Request for Proposal (RFP) will be floated, Ajay Kumar said.

Mig 35s???

 

[Path-Finder]

The good thing is Pakistan's air force's needs are now well supplemented thanks to brilliant thinking with timely decisions and proceedings so need to concentrate on next gen now. We have good partners with whom we can work which is extremely important. Not looking to reinvent the wheel is one reason we have not sunk into some ego boosting glory.

 

[UKBengali]

The good thing is Pakistan's air force's needs are now well supplemented thanks to brilliant thinking with timely decisions and proceedings so need to concentrate on next gen now. We have good partners with whom we can work which is extremely important. Not looking to reinvent the wheel is one reason we have not sunk into some ego boosting glory.

Yep PAF is in a good position with JF-17 Block 3 and FC-31(if required) rolling out this decade.

 

[Path-Finder]

Yep PAF is in a good position with JF-17 Block 3 and FC-31(if required) this decade rolling out this decade.

JF program will serve Pakistan exceptionally well and even though it had critics like rabid dogs foaming at the mouth but they have gone silent. 00 to 10 was the most critical period for PAF with challenges in security but not so much today.

 

[UKBengali]

JF program will serve Pakistan exceptionally well and even though it had critics like rabid dogs foaming at the mouth but they have gone silent. 00 to 10 was the most critical period for PAF with challenges in security but not so much today.

JF-17 Block 3 gives Pakistan a Gripen E capable jet at less than half the cost and propels Pakistani aerospace tech and some of the money stays in Pakistan as well.

The people who initiated this programme should be national heroes.

 

[Path-Finder]

The people who initiated this programme should be national heroes.

unfortunately the man behind the programs was posed to be ACM but the yanks were so enraged that Pakistan was still pursuing this project that he was not made ACM and retired by the american installed gov. anyway that's history and he is a national hero.

 

[Imran Khan]

lo ohir shuru go gya drama

 

[Tumba]

110 F-18
83 Tejas MK1A
36+36 Rafale

 

[Deino]

110 F-18
83 Tejas MK1A
36+36 Rafale

And once again another mix of more types - why not including some MiG-29M2/-35 ?? - to continue the maintenance nightmare the IAf already has with its mixed fleet of MiG-21, MiG-27 (ok, no longer), MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Su-30??

I really don't understand this Air Force.

 

[Tumba]

And once again another mix of more types - why not including some MiG-29M2/-35 ?? - to continue the maintenance nightmare the IAf already has with its mixed fleet of MiG-21, MiG-27 (ok, no longer), MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Su-30??

I really don't understand this Air Force.

Indian Govt. purchases fighters not Indian Air Force... all about politics

F-18 will come to keep USA happy once USA agrees to sell a squadron of Growlers

Tejas MK1A will come to keep Indian Military industry alive

Rafale will come to keep strategic independence for Nuclear delivery

 

[Pandora]

And once again another mix of more types - why not including some MiG-29M2/-35 ?? - to continue the maintenance nightmare the IAf already has with its mixed fleet of MiG-21, MiG-27 (ok, no longer), MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Su-30??

I really don't understand this Air Force.

You never will

India will obtain US jets not bcz they need them but to keep the market closed for Pakistan. Also Trump is all about money so a multi billion dollar deal will keep his mouth shut for very long time.

 

[Hakikat ve Hikmet]

And once again another mix of more types - why not including some MiG-29M2/-35 ?? - to continue the maintenance nightmare the IAf already has with its mixed fleet of MiG-21, MiG-27 (ok, no longer), MiG-29, Mirage 2000, Jaguar, Su-30??

I really don't understand this Air Force.

In the Hindu belief system a boon from one God/Goddess can result in a curse from another God/Goddess. Therefore, the job of the mortals is to satisfy as many as possible...

 

[cloud4000]

The good thing is Pakistan's air force's needs are now well supplemented thanks to brilliant thinking with timely decisions and proceedings so need to concentrate on next gen now. We have good partners with whom we can work which is extremely important. Not looking to reinvent the wheel is one reason we have not sunk into some ego boosting glory.

I've always admired the Pakistan process for acquiring defense equipment. Much more streamlined than what we see in Inda.

India should seek SAAB Gripen fighters and insist they be manufactured in India with ToT. India needs to energize its defense industry to be more productive.

 

[Ultima Thule]

Indian Govt. purchases fighters not Indian Air Force... all about politics

F-18 will come to keep USA happy once USA agrees to sell a squadron of Growlers

Tejas MK1A will come to keep Indian Military industry alive

Rafale will come to keep strategic independence for Nuclear delivery

Then it will be a maintenance/logistic nightmare for India/IAF, because most of world major Air forces replacing multiple old jets with single jet to reduce maintenance/logistic costs like (f35 replacing F-16/A-10,USN F/A18)
Russia is replacing its Su-27/Mig-29 to Su-57
Similar China is replacing Russian flankers series of jets with J-20 and in future they are replacing their all J-7/J-8/ and old J-10 with FC-31
SO India making a wrong turn to too many different jets from different sources it will become maintenance/logistic nightmare to IAF