New Delhi: The Indian Air Force will sign contracts worth about Rs 3 lakh crore for indigenous procurements over the next year and a half, including 97 LCA Mk-1A fighter jets, 156 Light Combat Helicopters (LCHs), and the upgradation of Sukhoi aircraft, Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari said Tuesday.
Speaking about the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-1A, he said that the Air Force was set to buy 97 such aircraft, which are addition to the 83, for which Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) signed a contract in 2021. The cost of all 180 aircraft will be about Rs 1.15 lakh crore, he added.
Notably, the IAF in June completed seven years of operating the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
About the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), 10 of which the Air Force inducted into its fold last year, Chaudhari said: “We will be signing the contract in coming years for about 156 of these aircraft. Sixty-six will be with the Air Force (while the rest will go to the Army). The anticipated value of this contract would be about Rs 45,000 crore.”
Furthermore, the IAF will also buy 70 Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 aircraft, which are designed and built by HAL for training purposes. The Union cabinet had approved their procurement in March, the delivery of which will take six years.
Regarding the upgrade of Sukhoi 30s, the chief said, 84 of them would undergo enhancements at a value of Rs 60,000 crore.
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New generation weapon systems on the cards
The IAF is also looking at procuring new generation weapon systems, contracts for which are expected to be signed by next year, Chaudhari said.
Listing the systems that the Air Force was looking at procuring, the chief said, “Medium-Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM), Akash New Generation missile defence systems, Air Defence System Kusha, Ballistic Missile Systems Pralay are all the contracts we are expecting to sign sometime in the coming year.”
Kusha is a project by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under which the IAF will get five units of the Long-Range Surface to Air Missile (LR-SAM). India’s Kalyani Strategic Systems has already entered a joint venture with Israel’s Rafael Advanced Systems Ltd for indigenous production of MRSAM, some of which have already been procured by the IAF.
Chaudhari said the cash outflow would be based on the allotted budget for the year.
“These contracts will be expected to be fulfilled over a period of about eight years, and so we will plan our budget accordingly,” he said.
He stressed that, except for the Flight Refuelling Aircraft (FRA) and Multirole Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme, most of the cases for acquisition are going to be indigenous.
India is looking at procuring 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA), however, the contract has been long pending.
The IAF will stop flying the MiG-21 squadrons by 2025 and replace them with LCA Mk-1A, said Chaudhari, adding that a proposal was in place for the same.
“This year, in another month or so, the second squadron will get number plated and the third one will follow soon next year. The induction of the Mk-1A will fill the gap for the outgoing MiG21s,” he said.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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