After Operation Sindoor, IAF seeks more Rafales to stem depletion of fighter squadrons

NEW DELHI: IAF has strongly pitched for a government-to-government deal with France to procure more Rafale fighters under its long-pending project to acquire 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA), in which the bulk of the jets are supposed to be manufactured domestically with foreign collaboration.

IAF will move the MRFA case for initial acceptance of necessity (AoN), the first step in the long-winded procurement process, to be approved by the Rajnath Singh-led Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) within a month or two, top defence sources told TOI.

"Government will take the final decision when the MRFA case comes to DAC. But yes, IAF has projected an urgent need for additional Rafales to stem the depletion in the number of its fighter squadrons," a source said.

The IAF move comes three months after military hostilities with Pakistan during Operation Sindoor from May 7 to 10, during which the 4.5-generation Rafales were extensively used for long-range strikes across the border.

While India has not declared its fighter losses, it has dismissed Pakistan's claim that it shot down six IAF jets, including three Rafales, on May 7. Pakistan used Chinese-origin jets like J-10s, armed with PL-15 beyond visual range air-to-air missiles with ranges over 200km, against IAF fighters on that day.

With the MRFA case hanging fire for the last seven-eight years after an initial cost estimate of over Rs 1.2 lakh crore, IAF is now grappling with a depleted strength of 31 fighter squadrons (16-18 jets in each). The number will go down to the lowest-ever figure of 29 squadrons after the retirement of the MiG-21s next month.

This when IAF is authorised 42.5 squadrons to tackle the collusive challenge from China and Pakistan, which was strongly reinforced during Sindoor. Moreover, China is set to supply Pakistan with at least 40 J-35A fifth-generation stealth jets in the near future.

IAF has also projected the requirement for two to three squadrons of 5th-gen fighters, with the Russian Sukhoi-57 and the American F-35 being the contenders, till the indigenous AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) is ready for production by 2035. "But no official talks have begun with either Russia or the US yet," an official said.

The IAF argument is it would make "much better economic and logistical sense" to go in for more Rafales through a government-to-government deal in the MRFA project. "The deal can be concluded faster than going in for an open global tender," another source said.

IAF inducted 36 Rafales, acquired under the Rs 59,000 crore inter-governmental contract with France in Sept 2016, which are deployed at the Ambala and Hasimara air bases. "Both air bases already have the infrastructure and storage capacity to base at least one more Rafale squadron each," the source said.

Navy is also slated to get its 26 Rafale-Marine jets, which will operate from aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, in the 2028-2030 timeframe under the Rs 63,887 crore (almost 7 billion euros) deal inked with France in April. "There will be a commonality in platforms and equipment if more Rafales are acquired," he said.

The push for the MRFA comes after a high-level committee, led by defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, recently chalked out a detailed roadmap for IAF's "all-round accelerated capability enhancement" to plug existing operational gaps in a time-bound manner, with greater participation from the private sector to complement the ongoing efforts of the DRDO and defence PSUs.

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