New Delhi:The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving a big boost to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat project and the Indian Air Force plans manufacture 96 of the 114 fighter jets it is set to acquire. The remaining 18 will be imported from selected foreign vendors.
It is under the 'Buy Global and Make in India' scheme which would allow Indian to partner with a foreign vendor that the Indian Air Force has plans of acquiring 114 Multirole Fighter Aircraft (MRFA).
"Recently, the Indian Air Force held meetings with the foreign vendors and asked them about the way they would carry out the Make in India project," government sources told ANI.
The sources said that under the scheme, after importing the initial 18 aircrafts, manufacturing of the next 36 would be done within the country and payments will be made in part in foreign currency and Indian currency.
The sources also added that the main responsibility of the final 60 aircraft would be taken up by the Indian partner, for which the government would make payments only in Indian currency.
The payment in Indian currency would help the vendors to achieve the over 60 per cent 'Make-in-India' content in the project, the sources said.
Global aircraft makers including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Saab, MiG, Irkut Corporation and Dassault Aviation are expected to participate in the tender.
These 114 fighter jets would allow Indian Air Force to maintain its superiority over the neighboring countries of Pakistan and China.
36 Rafale aircrafts that were purchased under emergency orders largely in maintaining an advantage over China during the Ladakh crisis, which began in 2020, but the number is not enough and it needs more such capabilities.
An order for 83 LCA MK1A aircraft has already been placed by the Air Force. As many MiG-Series aircraft are either being phased out or are nearing completion, they would requiring more capable aircrafts.
Sources said the IAF is looking for a low - cost solution to its fighter jet needs as it needs planes with a low operational cost that gives more capability to the service.