The IAF appears all set to start the flight rials immediately, but most probably these will commence only after the completion of the general elections.

Worth over $10 billion (Rs 50,000 crore), the very size of India’s Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) project ensures it never goes off the radar of the country’s defence acquisition programmes. Conceived in 2001, born as request for information (RFI) in 2003, India’s ambitious programme to acquire 126 fighter aircraft had crawled through the next stage when on June 29, 2007, the Defence Acquisition Council, headed by Defence Minister A.K. Antony gave its go-ahead.

To redux, Antony had outlined three guiding principles for the procurement scheme. First, the operational requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF) should be fully met. Second, the selection process should be competitive, fair and transparent, so that best value for money is realised. Lastly, Indian defence industries should get an opportunity to grow to global scales. Consequently, several criteria were incorporated into the request for proposal (RFP), including the introduction of total Life Cycle Costs, which caused further delays. Finally, a 211-page RFP, comprehensively prepared by the IAF, was approved for release to the respective bidders.