Acquisitions on the Anvil

Mihir Paul

With procurement efforts from the ministry of defence (MoD) suddenly picking up speed this year, the Indian Navy, by default, will be an eager recipient of a slew of critical acquisitions. From the 24 multi-role helicopters (MRH) to the 111 naval utility helicopters (NUH), the Indian Navy’s urgent requirements seem to have been kept in mind in this year’s acquisition moves.

Starting with the requirement for multi-role carrier-based fighters (MRCBF) to serve aboard the upcoming ‘Make in India’ carriers, INS Vikrant and INS Vishal, in early January 2017, a Request for Information (RFI) was floated by the MoD for 57 MRCBF. At present, the Indian Navy has 45 such multi-role carrier-based MiG-29Ks for operations from INS Vikramaditya and the under-construction INS Vikrant. The proposed procurement for the 57 MRCBFs came after almost 10 years when the Indian Navy had last acquired MiG-29Ks from Russia. The RFI followed from the news that LCA Tejas was no longer being considered for Indigenous Aircraft Carrier I (IAC I) since its naval version couldn’t operate from deck. The RFI specified that it needed the aircraft to be capable of day and night operations, all-weather multi-role deck-based capacities, air-to-surface operations, reconnaissance and electronic warfare from Indian aircraft carriers.

The government is also looking to have these MRCBFs manufactured in India as stated in the RFI. Among other major specifications, the RFI said the jet should be capable of Short Take Off Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) and Catapult Take Off Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR). INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant have STOBAR facility, wherein the jets take off from the flight deck made like a ski slope. The third carrier, INS Vishal, is likely to have C