IAF banks on Tejas, new fighter to bolster fleet 

IAF banks on Tejas, new fighter to bolster fleet 

Context

Indian Air Force (IAF) is focusing at Tejas, the indigenously developed light combat aircraft, and a single-engine fighter to be procured soon to seize the dramatic fall in its squad strength.

Procuring Tejas

• As the deal with the French government for 36 Rafale jets lands in the middle of political turmoil, the rate of decommissioning of aircraft gets way higher than the planned and even proposed inductions.
• Total 123 Tejas will be inducted in the force as planned.
• The IAF has a sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons and a projected requirement of 45 to face the anticipated threat of a two-front war. Now, the force has 33 squadrons and by December-end, it will be down to 31.
• With the planned induction of 36 Rafales between 2019 and 2022, the remaining Sukhoi-30MKIs and some Tejas jets, the strength will be 30 till 2027.
• In the subsequent five-year term, it will fall to 27. If there are no new inductions, it will slide further to 19 by 2042.
• The IAF is upgrading most of the aircraft in its inventory. But from 2025, most of those aircraft such as the Jaguars and the MiG-29s will start going out.
• In a month, the IAF is expected to issue the Request for Information (RFI) for over a 100 single-engine fighter aircraft under the Strategic Partnership model.
• Lockheed F-16 and Saab Gripen are in the race for the order and have already tied up with the Tatas and the Adani group, respectively, to build the jets locally with technology transfer.