New Delhi: Faced with a depleting strength, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is in talks with Russia to buy 21 MiG-29 fighter aircraft that are lying with Moscow since the late 1980s.
Top IAF sources told ThePrint that the Russians will upgrade the aircraft to the standard that India wants.
“The price offered by the Russians is good. Even though it was built at the same time when we bought the earlier MiG-29 squadrons, they have never flown,” a source said.
India currently has three squadrons of MiG-29 — a twin-engine single-seat air superiority fighter aircraft. One squadron comprises 18 aircraft.
These aircraft are currently being upgraded in-house by the IAF.
“The Russians will upgrade the 21 aircraft to the standard of the upgraded ones here. We are in talks to see how and at what price the deal can be done,” a source said.
Sources said this also rules out any additional orders for Su-30 MKI to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) except for the nine aircraft that the IAF might order to replace the ones that crashed.
A high-level IAF team was in Russia last month to check on the fighter aircraft and it has submitted a favourable report to the Air Headquarters.
India was the first international customer of Russia for its MiG-29s.
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Upgraded aircraft
The MiG-29 aircraft is currently going through structural as well as overall avionics upgrade, besides getting a new weapons package.
With the new air-to-air refuelling feature, an upgraded MiG-29 can cover larger distances compared to the previous legacy aircraft, something the IAF is keen on, keeping in mind the possibility of a two-front war scenario.
The upgraded MiG-29s have all the latest features, including a glass cockpit with digital screens.
The upgraded aircraft can also do air-to-ground, air-to-air and even anti-shipping operations, with the removal of several restrictions of the legacy aircraft.
Of IAF’s three MiG-29 squadrons in operation, two are at the Adampur Air Force Station while the other one is based in Jamnagar.
Also read: HAL set for talks with European firm to arm Tejas with air-to-air missile
Depleting strength
The situation is so bleak that, according to IAF projections, even if all existing orders for 36 Rafale jets, six squadrons of Tejas (including Tejas Mark 1A) and two more squadrons of Su-30 MKI are taken into account, IAF’s squadron strength will reduce to 27 by 2032 and a mere 19 by 2042.
The IAF has a squadron strength of 30 at present.
On the drawing board are plans for the Tejas Mark 2, the indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and 114 fighter aircraft, for which a Request For Proposal is still awaited. But, sources said, even if these are included, the IAF’s squadron strength will only be 37 by 2042 — as against its sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons.
India might buy some hand me down Russian aircraft to appease the IAF a tad to conserve money for new doles for its Bureaucrats, Politicians, Police, Judges, Dalits and Moslems:
IAF does not want F-16 and has rejected it multiple times.
What happened to the Lockheed Martin proposal to manufacture For 16 in India. Even before Modi came there was talk of 300 planes jointly made in US and India? These would have been 21st century and not the MIGs of an earlier era. At least once India should have a retired military officer as PM. He would understand such things better.
F-16 platform is older than Mig-29’s. Please check your facts anywhere on the web…it all depends on upgradation…most F-16’s are operated by US allies and are regularly upgraded unlike soviet client states who operated cheap mig-29 variants in large nos.