Feb. 2: The Mumbai terror attacks have led to a delay in the acquisition process for 126 aircraft for the Indian Air Force, sources have confirmed.
The trials of the aircraft of six global vendors, which was to start in January this year, will now begin in April. Following the Mumbai terror attacks and the rise in military tension with Pakistan, the constitution of a 10-member team of IAF pilots — who will test-fly the aircraft — was delayed. This happened because the IAF was focused on operational preparedness, given the aggressive posture displayed by the Pakistan Air Force following the Mumbai terror attacks.
The 10-member team of the IAF has been constituted now and procedures are being worked out to begin the test-flights by April or May this year, sources said. The test-flights will be carried out under the aegis if the Air Services Testing Establishment (ASTE) based at Bengaluru.
The 10-member IAF team will carry out the trials of the aircraft both at home and abroad. The test-flights of the aircraft will be carried out in different weather conditions across the country.
The IAF has been facing a problem of reduction in numerical strength of its fighter squadrons and this once again came to the fore following the rise in military tension with Pakistan. The IAF is therefore eagerly looking forward to the induction of the 126 aircraft in its fleet which will boost the numerical strength of its fighter aircraft fleet. However, this induction is expected to take a few more years which is why the IAF had hoped that there would be no delay in the acquisition process.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) for the procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) at an estimated cost of Rs 42,000 crores for the Indian Air Force was issued earlier to six vendors.
According to the RFP, the proposals from the contenders are to be technically evaluated by a professional team to check for compliance with the IAF’s operational requirements and other RFP conditions. Extensive field trials would then be carried out to evaluate the performance.