Indian Navy to acquire indigenous 45 TEDBF fighters as France & US tussle for multibillion-dollar fighter deal

-Jyoti Prakash

Indian Navy will be procuring 45 Indigenous Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) from HAL when it enters service in 2031 to replace Russian-supplied Mig-29K deck-based fighter jets by 2035-40. The initial plan was to buy 57 Naval Fighters for which Boeing Sent its F/A 18 Super hornet & France sent its Rafale M to show Indian Defense officials their capabilities of operating from Indian Aircraft carrier with STOBAR capabilities in Goa.



But now Indian Govt is actively looking to acquire 27 Naval fighters & F/A-18 Super hornet Block III might be the likely winner owing to its foldable wing capability which according to Boeing will take less space to house in Indian aircraft carriers.

Rafale M on the other hand has offered an Upgraded Version of its Rafale M which will see commonality with the Airforce variant of Rafale.

French officials say since the infrastructure for maintenance of Rafale for Airforce is already in INDIA which includes machinery & Vehicles to tow the aircraft from hangar & other essential parts & items, Rafale M if selected by India will further bolster India's defense capabilities since Rafale is a Proven platform in Various wars & more or less they will be of same capabilities so interoperability can be achieved as well.

 

HAL has already commenced flight trials of the upgraded version of Tejas MK-1A jets. It will be tested to fire Astra BVR missile, an AESA radar, and equipped with EW suites. Rs 48,000 Cr. order for 83 Tejas MK-1A is already placed.

IAF will start receiving fighter jets from February 2024 with% of indigenous components increasing from current 61 to 76.74% paving the path for the MAKE IN INDIA initiative to be bolstered in Indian Defence Sector.

Thus, the only thing that remains to be seen is what France or US do to sweeten the deal since Safran is also pushing in for making new engines for Tejas future fighter platforms & 5th Gen AMCA and is pushing forward for setting up an MRO facility in INDIA

As per a news article published in TheHindu.com, “The MRO facility through the direct foreign investment of $150 million in Hyderabad is expected to create 500-600 highly skilled jobs. The facility will be able to overhaul over 250 engines per year in the beginning. Safran aircraft engine, Hyderabad, with an investment of Euro 36 million and located on 10 acres of land in the Hyderabad Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will produce parts and components for advanced aircraft engines including rotating seals, the statement said.

Safran Electrical & Power India Pvt. Ltd. will produce harnesses for civil and fighter jets. The joint venture between Safran and HAL is to produce rigid piping for aircraft engines, including helicopter engines. “The joint venture is expected to hire 160 new highly skilled personnel,” the Ministry said.

Thus TEDBF will become the future of Indian Airforce Naval Fighters having capabilities of both 4++ Gen & 5th Gen Fighter capabilities. Orders for the Indian Navy might as well surpass 80-120 fighters in the future thus both US & France would be eyeing this factor more closely.

The TEDBF is being designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), and will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The TEDBF is intended to perform a multitude of missions, including air supremacy, air interdiction, anti-access/area denial (A2/AD), anti-ship warfare (ASW) and electronic warfare (EW) missions.

Jyotiprakash is a Analyst on Internal security and Defence related issues & Writes passionately about Indian Defence capabilities & Made in India Defence equipments