Indian Air Force to start conducting MMRCA field trials from later on in the year

Later this year the Indian Air Force (IAF) will start conducting field trials of  the medium range multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for which it has requested competing bids from international vendors.

IAF chief, air chief marshal, Fali H Major, said ''MMRCA technical evaluation is going on in full flow.''

Request for Proposals (RFPs) were sought from six vendors who have by now submitted technical bids, each consisting of 8,000 to 9,000 pages. ''It is really a nightmare to scrutinize the bids,'' ACM Fali Major informed the media at the United Services Institution (USI) here.

Atleast 50 per cent of the deal, estimated to be worth atleast $11 billion and more over its lifetime, will have to be reinvested in India by a manufacturer as part of the offset obligations that are inbuilt into the contract..

Some manufacturers submitted their offset proposals early on this week with one company - EADS - reiterating its invitation to India to partner the future development of its Eurofighter Typhoon. The Typhoon is one of the six jets in contention along with the Russian MiG-35, the Swedish Saab Gripen JAS-39, French Dassault Rafale and American contenders, Boeing and Lockheed Martin with their F-18 Super Hornet and F-16 Falcon fighters.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin also submitted their offset offers Monday.