India’s Fighter Saga Continues
Neelam Mathews March 28, 2018 India's LCA, also known as the Tejas, has suffered delays and technical issues. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) PS- The RFI for fighters was released soon after the story was published (no connection!) Watch this space for more analysis. Indian military fighter procurement is fast becoming a comedy of missed deadlines. A commitment to manufacture the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) as opposed to producing a foreign design in the country has led to a series of reversals on procurement for the Indian Air Force’s fighter requirements. The delays in decision-making come against a background of the IAF’s depleted squadrons and the need to replace aging aircraft such as the MiG-21. The Indian Navy, too, is awaiting the release of a r equest for p roposal for 57 fighters for its aircraft carriers, for which it has issued a r equest for i nformation (RFI). This followed delays to the single-engine, tailless delta LCA (Tejas) that i...