MMRCA II: IAF Issues RFI for 110 figther jets

IAF Issues RFI for 110 fighter Jet, Read more for Details: A Report
Published April 6, 2018 | By admin

SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

Indian Air Force has again issued Requested for Information (RFI) for procurement of 110 fighter aircraft. According to RFI which idrw.org has gone through, IAF indents to procure 82 Single Seater and 28 Twin sear aircraft and the selected vendor has to supply 16 aircraft in flyaway conditions.

Remaining 94 aircraft have to be made in India by a Strategic partner of an Indian origin. According to RFI, Aircraft should be all Whether Multi-role and Multi-mission capabilities.

All Interested vendors have to convey in detail and with clarity terms of Transfer of Technology for indigenous manufacture of the aircraft in India under ” Make in India ” initiate of the Government of India.

RFI has not wandered around into a single engine and twin engine configuration of the aircraft which means all previously rejected vendors of the MMRCA Tender can again have a shot at the latest RFI for 110 fighter jets.

Below are details of the Typical mission profile which aircraft should be capable of.



http://idrw.org/iaf-issues-rfi-for-110-fighter-jet-read-more-for-details-a-report/

Process to procure 110 fighter jets begins

NEW DELHI, April 07, 2018 00:30 IST

The Ministry of Defence on Friday initiated the formal process to buy 110 fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF) through a global tendering process.

The move comes almost two decades after the IAF began the last major effort to acquire fighters in large numbers. The effort culminated in the global tender for 126 fighters which was cancelled in 2015 after the Modi government decided to buy 36 Rafale fighters from France under a government-to-government deal.

In February this year, the government also scrapped a move to produce 114 single-engine fighters in India under the Make in India programme, after questions were raised about the narrow competition. The Request for Information issued on Friday for 110 fighters is the first step in a long-drawn complex process that could take several years to conclude. It would be the world’s biggest fighter jet tender in market right now.

The entire cost could be easily worth over $15 billion (almost ₹1 lakh crore), according to informal estimates.

The RFI says the government plans to buy the 110 fighters jets, of which 85% will have to be built in India under the Make in India programme in partnership with a “Strategic Partner/Indian Production Agency.”

The RFI does not specify if the fighter has to be a single, or a double engine, fighter, making it almost mirror the MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) tender which was scrapped in 2015 in its final stages after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a surprise announcement in Paris to buy 36 Rafale fighters.

Opposition parties have alleged that Mr. Modi’s decision has caused huge financial loss to the country, while the IAF says the 36 fighters are not enough to meet its requirement to have 42 squadrons. IAF now has just 31 fighter squadrons.

Given the RFI specifications, IAF sources expect the competition to be a line up very similar to the MMRCA competition. New variations of Dassault’s Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Lockheed Martin’s F-16, Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, Russia’s MIG-35, and Sweden’s Gripen are expected to compete. Many of these companies already have partners from Indian private sector, but it is not clear if the government would permit the private sector partners or insist on partnership with HAL.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/process-to-procure-110-fighter-jets-begins/article23460473.ece

India issued another request for information for another fighter tender

According to the magazine "Jane's Defense Weekly" in the article Rahul Bedi "India issues RFI for 110 combat aircraft", the Ministry of Defense of India issued an official request for information (RFI) for the planned purchase of 110 multipurpose fighters for the country's air force. The 72-page request invites manufacturers of combat aircraft to submit their proposals by July 6, 2018.

It is reported that of the 110 planned fighters, 17 should be delivered by the ready manufacturer, and the remaining 93 in accordance with the "Make in India" initiative should be built in India under license by the local "strategic partner" of the supplier, referred to as the 'Indian Production Agency' (IPA). Of these 93 aircraft, 82 must be single-seat, and the rest-two-seater. Deliveries of ready-made aircraft by the manufacturer must be started within 36 months from the date of signing the contract and are completed by 60 months from its signing. In turn, the supply of Indian-made aircraft must be started within 60 months from the signing of the contract and completed within 144 months of its signing.

The task requires a broad transfer of technology to the Indian manufacturer and the training of Indian personnel, as well as providing a 75 per cent technical readiness of the fleet of supplied fighters and providing 150 hours of flying per year per aircraft for 10 years.

Sources in the Ministry of Defense of India said that the cost of the procurement program is estimated at $ 15-18 billion.

Sources told Jane's that the released RFI looks "unusually similar" to the 2007 tender for 126 medium-sized multipurpose combat aircraft (MMRCA), which was closed in April 2015 in favor of India's purchase of 36 Dassault Rafale fighters.

"This RFI for 110 fighters is just a tendered MMRCA tender with minor changes," retired Indian air marshal VK Bhatia said, adding that he hoped that he would not suffer the same fate as the stolen MMRCA tender .

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/3151049.html

They could avoid wasting a lot of time if they make a 10 billion dollar hard limit on price and local production and specific tech transfer details very very clear and rigid.

They supposedly got down to the Rafale and MiG-35 in the original competition but chose the Rafale despite the price for that many aircraft being closer to 25 billion than 10 billion and that was never going to change.

On that factor alone the Rafale should have been omitted from the competition... yet there was no general outpouring about the cost... when the Gorshkov went from about 1.8 billion to about 2.4 billion you would have thought the sky was falling... yet the French asked for more than double the price and no one said a thing...

During the MMRCA the Indians actually said they did not really consider the MiG-35 because they already had an all Russian AF and picking another Russian aircraft would mean too much reliance on Russia... if that has not changed they should be clear at the start for MiG to not try to enter.

During the MMRCA the Indians actually said they did not really consider the MiG-35 because they already had an all Russian AF and picking another Russian aircraft would mean too much reliance on Russia... if that has not changed they should be clear at the start for MiG to not try to enter.

ToT is supposed to make them self reliable. Indians don't know what they want. Dassault problably lost more money for the coffee during their unending meetings than they won with the rafales.

They have Mig-29, mig-29k, rafale, su-30mki, FGFA, Tejas, Jaguar, Mirage 2000, this new airplane, Mig-21, mig 27, mig 25.

Who would want such airforce ?

Great news Pinto, Thx. BTW I am curious if  MiG-35 will have a chance to win 110 fighter contract? especially that MiG can transfer technology with machine...

GunshipDemocracy wrote:Great news Pinto, Thx. BTW I am curious if  MiG-35 will have a chance to win 110 fighter contract? especially that MiG can transfer technology with machine...

Seems chances are quite weak.

Militarov wrote:

GunshipDemocracy wrote:Great news Pinto, Thx. BTW I am curious if  MiG-35 will have a chance to win 110 fighter contract? especially that MiG can transfer technology with machine...

Seems chances are quite weak.

Id I read "democratic press" yes, I dont know what's cooking in backstage though. Remember MiG is fairly modern aircraft and technologies can be shared unlikely to any western fighter.
of course we'll need to live to see results

PM Modi, Russia President Putin hold 'extremely productive' talks on bilateral, global issues

"It can be supposed that the military-technical cooperation issue will be discussed [at the meeting between Putin and Modi,]" Tass news agency quoted Peskov as saying.
Earlier, official sources said the possible impact of the US sanctions against Russia under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) on Indo-Russia defence cooperation might also figure during the talks between Modi and Putin.
The CAATSA is a United States federal law that imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia. It includes sanctions against countries that engage in significant transactions with Russia's defence and intelligence sectors.
India is not going to allow its defence engagement with Russia to be dictated by any other country, the sources said, adding New Delhi has been lobbying with the Trump administration on the issue.
India could face US sanctions for purchasing high value military defence items, in particular state-of-the-art S-400 Triumf missile defence system, from Russia under the act.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/pm-modi-meets-russian-president-putin-for-first-informal-summit/articleshow/64258645.cms

GunshipDemocracy wrote:Great news Pinto, Thx. BTW I am curious if MiG-35 will have a chance to win 110 fighter contract? especially that MiG can transfer technology with machine...

well bro chances are weak because IAF is interested in buying more Rafales.

But if tejas gets further delayed then MIG35 is smart choice far better then f16 and heavy weight f18. Moreover India wont but any big ticket item now except S400 this year as next year in april general elections in India are due

To the Indian members of the forum and any other knowledgeable guys on the subject:

Any chance for the MiG-35 in the ongoing Indian RFI for 110 fighters?

After having spent a huge sum in the 36 Rafales, I fully expect the next order to be placed with Dassault, but who knows.

Situation looking definitely worrying for MiG if the PAK-FA and now apparently also a heavy UCAV go to Sukhoi while MiG don't even get contracts for the 35s

LMFS wrote:To the Indian members of the forum and any other knowledgeable guys on the subject:

Any chance for the MiG-35 in the ongoing Indian RFI for 110 fighters?

After having spent a huge sum in the 36 Rafales, I fully expect the next order to be placed with Dassault, but who knows.

Situation looking definitely worrying for MiG if the PAK-FA and now apparently also a heavy UCAV go to Sukhoi while MiG don't even get contracts for the 35s

No one knows what Indians do. They already have like 10 different fighters/bombers. Adding another mig-35 that doesn't share anything with mig-29 will make the logistic a nightmare. On the other hand they already refused to buy lot of rafales because of high costs so mig-35 has the same chances as rafale to be taken if thus new contract doesn't end like the previous one.

What they want is ToT but they bought 36 rafales with 0 ToT in the contract. The best thing they could have done is keep with pak-fa but they didn't want it, they want technology of 4th generation fighters not 5th.

Isos wrote:
No one knows what Indians do. They already have like 10 different fighters/bombers. Adding another mig-35 that doesn't share anything with mig-29 will make the logistic a nightmare. On the other hand they already refused to buy lot of rafales because of high costs so mig-35 has the same chances as rafale to be taken if thus new contract doesn't end like the previous one.

What they want is ToT but they bought 36 rafales with 0 ToT in the contract. The best thing they could have done is keep with pak-fa but they didn't want it, they want technology of 4th generation fighters not 5th.

Well, I would think the MiG-35 should have many common parts, tooling and a philosophy of operation and maintenance similar to the 29... that would be in fact an advantage when buying the Russian plane. But they have apparently already paid 1,7 billion for specific modifications to the Rafale, 700 million for weapons and 1,8 billion for spares. I would fully expect such costs as the modifications to the plane and maybe some spares and weapons to be discounted in the next order.

Good information here about the original deal:
http://www.rediff.com/news/special/has-india-paid-more-for-the-rafales/20171201.htm

It is very interesting to see that India was bitching non-stop about the costs of the ToT for the FGFA but they gladly pay almost 2 billion for a couple of enhancements to the Rafale with so little publicity and without ToT... really makes you wonder what the hell is going on in the Indian military:

A key question is: How much of the 'additional costs' are actually part of the aircraft?

Most aerospace industry executives agree the 'India-specific enhancements' are a part of the Rafale operational platform and should be included in its price.

These enhancements include a 'radar warning receiver' to detect enemy radar and 'low band jammers' to foil it; a radio altimeter, Doppler radar, extreme cold weather starting-up devices for airfields like Leh, and 'helmet mounted display sights' that let pilots aim their weapons merely by looking at a target.

Adding the €1.7 billion for 'India-specific enhancements', the payment made for the aircraft goes up to €5 billion, averaging out to €138.9 million (Rs 1,063 crore/Rs 10.63 billion) per Rafale fighter.

The Rafale deal went threw because Dassault also promised to upgrade India's Mirages, it was a quiet packaged deal.
Sadly, India only has about 50 Mirages.

This didn't resolve the 126 retiring Mig-21 problem, which was the main reason for the MMRCA.

And at this point, we can conclude that the Indians were never serious about the FGFA.
They kept b%tching about it even though they didn't pay for a damn thing.

Overall, a complete sh%t show.

Six companies are applying for the supply of the Indian Air Force's new fighters

Six of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers responded to a request sent on 6 April by the Ministry of Defense of India to provide information on the possibility of supplying the Air Force of India with 110 multipurpose fighters.
According to the Indian media, by July 6, four manufacturers submitted proposals for the supply of twin-engine fighters
(F/A-18E/F Super Hornet of Boeing, Rafale of French Dassault, Typhoon of the Eurofighter consortium and MiG-35 RSK MiG), two more applicants were offered single-engine fighters (Gripen E of Swedish Saab and F-16 Block 70 of Lockheed Martin Corporation). All six applicants participated in the tender for the supply of the Indian Air Force 126 medium-sized multipurpose combat aircraft (MMRCA) in 2007, which was canceled in April 2015. Instead, the Ministry of Defense of India signed a contract for the purchase of 36 Rafael fighters of Dassault. According to representatives of the Indian Air Force, the replies received will be "technical appraisal", after which within 6-9 months applicants will be sent requests for proposals containing updated requirements for the platform and armament.

The request for proposals will also specify the selection criteria, incl. whether the platforms will be priced by the cost of delivery or the cost of the life cycle, based on a 40-year service life or 6000 flight hours. Platforms of shortlisted applicants will be tested, followed by negotiations on cost and technology transfer. According to the request, 17 fighters will be purchased from the manufacturer in the finished form, the remaining 93 - produced under the license of the Indian company chosen by the strategic partner in accordance with the "Procurement Procedure for Defense Products 2016" (DPP-2016). The delivery of the first fighters will begin 36 months after the signing of the contract and will be completed within 60 months. The delivery of 93 platforms under license will begin 60 months after the conclusion of the agreement and will be completed within 144 months. In the long term, the number of aircraft purchased can double.

According to the request for information, the proposed fighter must perform the tasks of gaining superiority in the air and providing air defense. In addition, aircraft must be able to strike ground targets, conduct reconnaissance, conduct operations at sea, electronic warfare, and refuel other aircraft. The selected manufacturer will have to provide a logistics package that provides 75% readiness for the combat use of fighters, whose average flight time will be 150 hours per month for at least 10 years.

The purpose of purchasing 110 aircraft is to increase the fleet of air force fighters, whose number has decreased from the 42nd to 31st squadron authorized by the government. It is expected that by 2022 this number will be reduced to 23 as a result of the removal from the arsenal of 10-12 squadrons of obsolete MiG-21 and MiG-27 aircraft (a total of about 180-200 units).

According to the Air Force command, who got acquainted with the proposed aircraft during the MMRCA tender, it would take about 24-30 months to determine the short list of applicants after the technical evaluation and testing. Nevertheless, it is not known how long it will take for the Ministry to select a strategic partner and complete all negotiations on the terms of the contract, the creation of a joint venture and the transfer of technology for the licensed production of fighters. According to the representatives of the Air Force, the Defense Ministry has yet to finalize the details of the requirements for the establishment of the joint venture, which can also have a negative impact on the delivery of fighter aircraft.

According to sources in the industry, the cost of buying 110 fighters is estimated at 15-18 billion dollars. It is obvious that single-engine fighters are cheaper to buy and operate than twin-engine fighters, but less reliable.

https://i-korotchenko.livejournal.com/1417949.html

GarryB wrote:They could avoid wasting a lot of time if they make a 10 billion dollar hard limit on price and local production and specific tech transfer details very very clear and rigid.

They supposedly got down to the Rafale and MiG-35 in the original competition but chose the Rafale despite the price for that many aircraft being closer to 25 billion than 10 billion and that was never going to change.

On that factor alone the Rafale should have been omitted from the competition... yet there was no general outpouring about the cost... when the Gorshkov went from about 1.8 billion to about 2.4 billion you would have thought the sky was falling... yet the French asked for more than double the price and no one said a thing...

During the MMRCA the Indians actually said they did not really consider the MiG-35 because they already had an all Russian AF and picking another Russian aircraft would mean too much reliance on Russia... if that has not changed they should be clear at the start for MiG to not try to enter.

Lets face it the French bribed everyone lol. When the real price came out hell broke loose.

I have read the SU-35 is also on offer. Personally I think a great option as they can probably build it locally sinnce they did the SU-30. Also it gives them options and technology to upgrade their huge SU-30 fleet. India would be insane to go with anything other then Mig-35 or SU-35, ...but that won't stop them.lol Hornet and F-21 (16) are rubbish

mnztr wrote:I have read the SU-35 is also on offer. Personally I think a great option as they can probably build it locally sinnce they did the SU-30. Also it gives them options and technology to upgrade their huge SU-30 fleet. India would be insane to go with anything other then Mig-35 or SU-35, ...but that won't stop them.lol Hornet and F-21 (16) are rubbish

They plan to upgrade the su30 to a better lvl than su35 with Aesa radars, last engines... and it will still be a 2 seat which is an advantage over a single seat su35.

Su35 is a heavy fighter while they want a smaller one. Indians still don't trust US. IMO it will be french/russian final with Rafale and mig-35 as usual I want to say because they liked the mig-29 and Mirage. It's a safe choice. US is a risky choice.

They plan to upgrade the su30 to a better lvl than su35 with Aesa radars, last engines... and it will still be a 2 seat which is an advantage over a single seat su35.

If it needs two crew then it wont be better than the Su-35... the automation in the Su-35 is supposed to be similar but a step below that fitted to the Su-57, so effectively a minus 5 generation level (as opposed to 4 ++) where information presentation is managed and minor monitoring of systems is done automatically so the pilot is not deluged with information and can do what he needs to do on his own without help in the cockpit.

[qutoe]Su35 is a heavy fighter while they want a smaller one. Indians still don't trust US. IMO it will be french/russian final with Rafale and mig-35 as usual I want to say because they liked the mig-29 and Mirage. It's a safe choice. US is a risky choice. [/quote]

Their first choice was local production and joint development of the Mirage 2000 with France, but France forced them to go for the Rafale instead... an order of magnitude more expensive and no chance of local assembly... or technology transfer.

The original MMRCA was supposed to get the French to lower the price of the Rafale or to offer a deal on the M2K... they did neither and after wasting 10 years they had to go with 36 Rafales for more than three quarters of the money allocated for the entire project of 126 planes...

All along I thought what they might decide it is a compromise... 40-50 Rafales and perhaps 100 MiG-29Ms that they could over time upgrade to MiG-35 level... but they just went for 36 Rafales...

Perhaps if their objection to the MiG is that it is another Russian plane that maybe they could spend big and locally produce it... and create a MiG-37 which will be the equivalent of the Su-30MKI where they take a Russian design and make all the changes they want and add in foreign components and systems or develop new systems with Russia that they want like AESA radars... when they pay for it... they own it... or at least joint own it which is good enough.

These planes could replace their current MiG-21, MiG-27, and upgraded MiG-29s with the new MiG-29M structure... they could replace the older types with cheap simple 29Ms, and the more expensive types with the 37 they create... perhaps 35s in the mean time.

And perhaps buy another 36 Rafales (72 total) to replace the M2Ks and Jaguars in service...

Indian Air Force Commander Confirms Continuation of Tender for Purchase of 114 Fighters

The Chief of Staff (Commander) of the Indian Air Force Marshal of Aviation Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria on May 18, 2020, in an interview with the Indian news agency ANI, confirmed that the Indian Air Force still intends to acquire 114 multi-role fighters as part of an international tender.

In an interview, Aviation Marshal Bhadauria said the Indian Air Force intends to acquire 450 new combat aircraft over the next 15 years, including 36 Dassault Rafale fighters already ordered, 114 Multirole Fighter Aircraft fighters, and 100 promising fifth-generation Indian fighters Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft ( AMCA) and more than 200 light Indian Light Combat Aircraft fighters (LCA, Tejas) in various modifications (including 83 LCA Mk 1A and more than 100 LCA Mk 2). At the same time, the AMSA fighter being developed should come into service "within the next 35 years."

Bhadauria also announced plans to purchase 70 Indian HAL HTT-40 training turboprop aircraft.

Touching on plans to acquire 114 multi-role fighters, Air Marshal Bhadauria said that “this project is in the middle weight and belongs to the same class as Rafale, but in this case we will deal with it in the field of Make in India, with an increase foreign direct investment, with the support of the private sector. I think that in the future this should provide the technologies that are necessary to support the aviation sector. “I think it’s important to have a new generation of aircraft in terms of capabilities and technologies so that we can move forward.”


From the bmpd side, recallthat the Indian Air Force launched a new tender for the acquisition of 114 new multi-role fighters (sometimes referred to as MMRCA 2.0, from Multi Role Combat Aircraft) in April 2018. Rumors about the allegedly possible cancellation of a new tender for 114 fighters by India appeared after the Bloomberg news agency published on May 14 fragments of a speech by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of India, General Bipin Ravat, who, being asked about plans to purchase 114 multi-role fighters, avoided a direct answer and began to speculate on the benefits support for the national industry and the intentions of the Indian Air Force to order 83 light fighter national design LCA Mk 1A (Tejas). For some reason, Bloomberg concluded that 83 LCA Mk 1A should be purchased instead of 114 multi-role fighters and that the tender for the latter “will be canceled”, that,

https://bmpd.livejournal.com/4030598.html#cutid1

ZOKA
@200_zoka
·
3h
India and Russia have conditionally agreed to jointly produce MiG-35 fighters in case of victory in the tender for 110 fighters.
/ "Interfax" with reference to the head of the FSVTS of Russia Vladimir Drozhzhov /

Isos wrote:ZOKA
@200_zoka
·
3h
India and Russia have conditionally agreed to jointly produce MiG-35 fighters in case of victory in the tender for 110 fighters.
/ "Interfax" with reference to the head of the FSVTS of Russia Vladimir Drozhzhov /

Jointly produce??? What does this even mean??? Mig 35 has already been produced by Russia, in Russia. Where is the need for India?

Probably like su-30mki.

Russia produces the parts and India opens an assembly line. This creates jobs in India and they can have a maintenance line inside India instead of sending the fighters in Russia everytime they need to change something inside.

Anyway that will be the true for any plane that wins. If they buy 110 fighters they will want to make it in India for a big part.

RTN wrote:

Isos wrote:ZOKA
@200_zoka
·
3h
India and Russia have conditionally agreed to jointly produce MiG-35 fighters in case of victory in the tender for 110 fighters.
/ "Interfax" with reference to the head of the FSVTS of Russia Vladimir Drozhzhov /

Jointly produce??? What does this even mean??? Mig 35 has already been produced by Russia, in Russia. Where is the need for India?

They could convert the HAL plant for Mig 35. The tender isn't for heavy fighters. So why would they go for more su 30mki

India already knows the Mig 29 like the back or their hand. It's a smart move

https://www.russiadefence.net/t2679p750-russia-india-military-contracts#311712

The only realistic solution to the situation in which the IAF finds itself and an optimum, low cost gap until AMCA arrives that will produce proven ToT and industrial returns. Everything else is daydreaming or outright sabotage.

The fact that HAL will heavily lobby for this approach is a further reason to believe the tender is not completely lost.

Backman wrote:They could convert the HAL plant for Mig 35. The tender isn't for heavy fighters. So why would they go for more su 30mki

Well, they are discussing about the modernization of the MKI, they would still need some serious capability to process that many aircraft in what would be an in-depth modification of the plane. But basically I agree, HAL would love to have further contracts to sustain the industrial capability they created for the MKI program, losing it would be a major blow to the Indian aerospace industry.

But basically I agree, HAL would love to have further contracts to sustain the industrial capability they created for the MKI program, losing it would be a major blow to the Indian aerospace industry.

It would be a hammer blow to their drive for made in India... there is no point in creating production capacity and then letting it die... only to have to rebuild it again from scratch for the next aircraft... because creating it from scratch is enormously expensive and India is paying the bill.

It would be cheaper to just offer 5,000 Indian businessmen a $20,000 US dollar interest free loan for 5 years...

Backman wrote:India already knows the Mig 29 like the back or their hand. It's a smart move

Makes no difference. Mig-35 is a different aircraft. India knows nothing about it.

Russia needs to sell more Mig 29s to India.