The newly appointed Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, has stressed the urgent need for the speedy acquisition of Medium-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA). His call to action stems from growing concerns over a widening technological gap between the IAF and China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF). Despite this, the IAF Chief remains confident that India’s superior training and international exposure will allow it to maintain its strategic standing even if tensions with China escalate.
In a detailed and candid briefing, Air Chief Marshal Singh outlined the pressing need to strengthen India’s air capabilities, particularly in light of China’s rapid advancements in defense technology. However, the Indian defense establishment remains torn between two conflicting approaches: indigenization, championed by the Indian government, and modernization through imports, a necessity driven by current defense realities.
At the heart of the debate lies the much-anticipated MRFA acquisition, which would involve buying 114 fighter jets. The IAF has been awaiting an Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) from the Indian government to proceed with the deal, but progress has stalled for over three years. The delay comes despite the IAF’s rapidly declining fighter jet squadron strength, a situation the new IAF Chief has described as a critical deficiency that must be addressed immediately.
“The aircraft are needed as of yesterday,” Air Chief Marshal Singh remarked, echoing the sentiment of many defense experts who have grown increasingly concerned over the IAF’s shrinking fleet. The MRFA is expected to fill the gap left by the cancellation of the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) deal in 2015, which was initially meant to deliver 126 aircraft to the IAF. The MMRCA’s collapse led to India purchasing 36 Rafale jets directly from France, but that number has proven insufficient for India’s growing security needs.
India’s defense sector is caught in a crossfire between indigenization under the “Make in India” initiative and the need for swift modernization through imports. Proponents of indigenous development argue that by the time the MRFA jets are delivered—an estimated six to seven years—the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk2, a domestically developed fighter jet, will be ready for deployment.
During his press conference, Air Chief Marshal Singh addressed concerns about the timeline for the LCA Mk2, acknowledging that while the indigenous fighter jet will be essential for India’s future defense needs, its development and deployment are still years away.
“It takes seven years for the entire supplies to come,” the Chief explained. “The LCA Mk2, which we will be getting after seven years, is at par with today’s Rafale. It will not be better than it, but it will be in the same class,” he added, signaling that while the LCA Mk2 will be a vital addition to India’s defense lineup, it won’t surpass the Rafale in performance.
Importantly, Air Chief Marshal Singh emphasized the advantage of integrating indigenous weapons into the LCA Mk2, making it a crucial asset for India’s defense strategy. However, he acknowledged the gap that currently exists and underlined the need for the immediate acquisition of fighter jets to address this shortfall.
“For now, we need to plug the gap by immediate acquisition of fighter jets. For that, we are looking at the ‘Make in India’ platform,” Singh stated. But the process of securing these jets, which began in 2018, has been riddled with delays and complications.
When the Request for Information (RFI) was floated in 2018, it received enthusiastic responses from major aircraft manufacturers worldwide, eager to win a slice of India’s multi-billion-dollar defense deal. Leading contenders include Dassault’s Rafale, Boeing’s F-15EX, Lockheed Martin’s F-21, Saab’s JAS-39 Gripens, the Eurofighter Typhoon, and Russia’s Su-35. Each of these aircraft brings unique strengths and capabilities, and the competition to win the MRFA deal is fierce.
One of the key requirements for the MRFA program is that the selected aircraft be manufactured in India under the “Make in India” initiative. This means that the aircraft would be licensed-produced locally, which, according to the IAF Chief, would allow India to modify and upgrade the jets as needed. Singh cited the example of the Jaguar aircraft, which was initially purchased from abroad but later produced in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), enabling the IAF to make extensive upgrades over time.
“The technology will be available to us to upgrade. Like Jaguar, we purchased from abroad and started manufacturing with HAL. We have done so many modifications and weapons integrations with that. So MRFA, whichever aircraft is chosen, will be something like Rafale plus,” Singh explained. He stressed that incorporating indigenous content and the ability to integrate homegrown weapons into the aircraft would enhance India’s self-reliance in defense production.
Despite India’s progress toward indigenization, the IAF Chief openly admitted that India is lagging behind China in terms of defense technology. “As far as technology is concerned, we are lagging behind. We were better than them some time ago, but we need to catch up. In terms of manufacturing, we are lagging behind,” Singh stated candidly.
This gap is becoming increasingly apparent as China continues to build and deploy cutting-edge fighter jets. The PLAAF has already deployed its J-10 Vigorous Dragon fighters just 300 kilometers from an Indian base housing Rafale jets, a stark reminder of the growing air power disparity between the two nations.
Furthermore, China’s ambitious fighter jet development program is rapidly outpacing India’s efforts. The PLAAF has introduced the J-20 Mighty Dragon, a 5th-generation twinjet all-weather stealth fighter, which first took to the skies in 2011. The J-20 entered service in 2017, and China now has over 200 of these aircraft, with plans to increase the fleet to 400 by 2027 and 1,000 by 2035. In contrast, India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), its own 5th-generation fighter jet project, is still in the early stages of development, with operational deployment unlikely before the 2030s. In addition to the J-20, China is already moving to develop 6th-generation fighter technologies, further widening the gap between the two air forces.
Despite these challenges, Air Chief Marshal Singh remains confident that India’s air force has one critical advantage over China: superior training and greater international cooperation. He pointed to the IAF’s extensive interactions with air forces from across the world, including joint exercises and training programs, which have provided Indian pilots with invaluable experience in diverse combat scenarios.
“We don’t have a design to go on the offensive unnecessarily. Only when we are pushed will we hold our own,” Singh said. “One place we can positively say we are ahead is in training. We have exposure better than them. We know from our sources how many different air forces we have interacted with and how many air forces they train with. I am very confident we are way ahead of them in terms of people.”
This international exposure, coupled with India’s strong focus on improving the skills and readiness of its pilots, has given the IAF a crucial advantage in an increasingly competitive geopolitical landscape. But while superior training can offset some of the technological disadvantages, it is not a permanent solution. The acquisition of modern aircraft, both through imports and indigenous development, is critical to maintaining India’s air dominance in the region.
The IAF’s new Chief, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, has made it clear that India’s air defense capabilities are at a critical juncture. While the indigenization of aircraft through programs like the LCA Mk2 and AMCA is essential for India’s long-term defense strategy, immediate action is required to plug the current technological gap with China. The MRFA acquisition, which has been delayed for years, is now seen as an urgent priority. Whether the Indian government will expedite the necessary approvals and allow the IAF to proceed with this crucial purchase remains to be seen.
As India continues to balance its goals of indigenization with the pressing need for modernization, the coming years will be pivotal for the future of the IAF. The decisions made today will determine whether India can maintain its strategic edge in the skies and safeguard its borders against potential threats.
