Momentous events are playing out as the deadline for submitting proposals to India’s MMRCA deal draws close. As the contenders reveal their cards, the web of India’s ties with traditional partners and new players is assuming the dynamism of a kaleidoscope.

Feverish pace of progress set by the Lockheed Martin-led Joint Strike Fighter programme showcases the prowess of modern day cutting-edge technologies. The cover story of this issue wonders whether it is possible for India to join the JSF programme at this stage, and comes up with an unequivocal no. Bureaucratic snarls and snags in technology transfer and access to sensitive software for optimum utilisation of the weapons platform are some of the key factors discouraging such a move. While India could do well to concentrate on the ongoing MMRCA acquisition and Russia Fifth Generation fighter programmes, the JSF programme will stay firmly on its anvil.

While aspirations to join the JSF programme may for now be have to put on hold, India would perhaps be hard put to turn down the EADS invite to join the Eurofighter programme. India is our partner of choice and we are interested in long-lasting political, industrial and military relations, proclaimed Bernhard Gerwert, CEO of Military Air Systems, an integrated activity of EADS Defence & Security at a recent conference, throwing the door widely open for India.

Evidently, the door to India’s defence market has over the recent past yawned to proportions that allows more than a few players to ease in with their wares. A case in point being the Israeli aerospace industry. In the last 15 years, Israel has unseated the Russians to become the biggest arms supplier to India. How did the country, accorded a mere token recognition by India only in the early 1990s, become its major arms supplier? Hemmed in by growing competition and new contenders eager to grab a pie of the Indian defence establishment’s steadily lengthening wish list, the country’s traditional arms suppliers, the Russians, are understandably feeling the heat.

Forum and InFocus reflects the rapidly changing kaleidoscope as India takes pains to preserve its established relations and simultaneously forge new ties, discussing at length indications of growing friction—perceived and otherwise—with the Russians. Reacting to a media report on the grounding of Su-30s at Pune’s Lohegaon air base allegedly due to shortage of spare tyres, experts and observers outline the various nuances and notches of the decades-old relationship between Delhi and Moscow. Summing up the Indian military view on the issue, former Chief of the Indian Air Force Air Chief Marshal S.P. Tyagi points out: If there are more problems with the Russians than with the others from whom India acquires fighter aircraft it could simply be because we do more business with the Russians. Otherwise, be it Russians, Americans or French—the story remains the same. Quite understandably, in the light of the larger issues at stake between India and Russia, senior IAF officers are more inclined to brush off damaging speculations as minor hiccups.

Even as the buzz of new acquisitions and fresh equations permeates the corridors of military might, business aviation is ragging across Asia. There’s no denying the upswing in business and charter air services in India and business aircraft makers can hope attitudes will change as India Inc gets more comfortable with BizAv.

Among all the good cheer comes the news that, in a bid to bag the MMRCA deal, Boeing has offered its advanced F/ A-18E/F Super Hornet to the IAF even as Lockheed Martin has proposed the F-16IN. We will keep you updated as the other proposals come pouring in.