Future of the Indian Air Force

The Indian Air Force has been undergoing a modernization program to replace and upgrade outdated equipment since the late 1990s to meet modern standards. For that reason, it has started procuring and developing aircraft, weapons, associated technologies, and infrastructures. Some of these programs date back to the late 1980s. The primary focus of current modernization and upgrades is to replace aircraft purchased from the Soviet Union that currently form the backbone of the Air Force.

The Indian Airforce plans to attain a 42 squadron strength by 2035 and deploy 450 fighter jets each along the borders of Pakistan and China. The IAF will also acquire large numbers of stealthy autonomous UCAVs (DRDO AURA), swarm drones (ALFA-S) and uncrewed aircraft to transform into a fully advanced Network-Centric Force capable of sustained multi-role operations along the entire spectrum.

Upgrades

; Super Sukhoi

According to the report, the ‘Super Sukhoi’ upgrade for the IAF's fleet of Su-30MKIs is in advanced levels of discussions, with modernisation plans for avionics, engines and weaponry on offer. The IAF, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the Russian government have been working on the upgrade programme. The HAL Chief R Madhavan reportedly confirmed that technical proposals regarding the programme have been discussed as recently as last month.

"The configuration has not yet been finalized but the upgrade basically will include beyond visual range capability, new electronic warfare suites, an engine upgrade as well as a new radar," Madhavan said.

The current N011M Bars radar of the Su-30 MKI has a radar capable of searching objects to a range of 400 km and tracking them within 200 km of the range, however, the current radar is not an active electronically scanned array (AESA) Radar so it can be jammed but Super Sukhoi will have a modern AESA radar and top contender for that is X-BAND N036 Byelka AESA radar. It is the same radar used in Russian 5th generation fighter Su-57.

EW Capabilities of Sukhoi-30MKI would be enhanced by Indigenous DARE's High Band Jammer Pod (HBT), Dhruti Radar Warning System, and a Dual Color Missile Approach Warning System.

Under procurement

Fighter aircraft

; HAL Tejas Mark 1/Mark 1A
HAL has already received orders for 40 aircraft of Mark 1 variant which will be delivered by 2022. On 3 February 2021, the Ministry of Defense signed the contract with HAL for the procurement of 83 advanced Tejas which includes 73 Mark 1A and 10 Mark 1 trainer variants with advanced AESA Radar, jammers, superior avionics, next-gen BVR missiles, better payload, and enhanced combat range. The induction of 123 Tejas Mark 1/Mark 1A will be completed by 2028.

; Dassault Rafale

On 10 April 2015, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Paris, it was announced that India would buy 36 Dassault Rafales in fly-away condition by 2030. The deal stalled for a considerable amount of time due to price negotiations, but was finalised in November 2015.

On 23 September 2016, India's Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian signed the contract for the purchase of 36 Rafales in a deal worth 7.8 billion Euros. The first Rafale warplanes were slated to be delivered roughly within three years of the signing of the deal. The first aircraft was delivered to the IAF in 2019, with the full complement of aircraft to be delivered by end of 2021 and five new Rafale aircraft reached India in July 2020. A second batch of three Rafale jets arrived at Jamnagar airbase in Gujarat on 4 November 2020 after flying non-stop from France. India has also made a deal with France to buy Hammer missiles to use with Rafale.

; MMRCA 2.0
On 3 January 2017, Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar addressed a media conference and announced plans for a competition to select a strategic partner to deliver "200 new single-engine fighters to be made in India, which will easily cost around (USD) $45 million apiece without weaponry" with an expectation that Lockheed Martin (USA) and Saab (Sweden) will pitch the F-16 Block 70 and Gripen, respectively.

An MoD official said that a global tender will be put to market in the first quarter of 2018, with a private company nominated as the strategic partner's production agency followed by a two or more year process to evaluate technical and financial bids and conduct trials, before the final government-to-government deal in 2021. This represents 11 squadrons of aircraft plus several 'attrition' aircraft.

However, the plan to acquire foreign-made single-engine fighters was replaced by induction indigenous aircraft Tejas of different variants.Parrikar: India to Kick Off Competition for New Foreign Single-Engine Fighters
Vivek Raghuvanshi, DefenseNews.com, 3 January 2017

Later the competition was declared to be exclusively open for twin-engine fighters of Rafale category.
The contenders are Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, Mig 35, Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Sukhoi Su-35, Boeing F-15EX, Saab JAS 39 Gripen E/F and Lockheed Martin F-21 (variant of F-16). NB Gripen and F-21 are single-engined.

Strategic bombers

In 2022, retired Air Chief Marshal Anoop Raha revealed that India was interested in purchasing Tupolev Tu-160 bombers from Russia. Reports emerged that India was in talks with Russia to acquire six Tu-160 Blackjack bombers that will make India only country other than US, Russia and China to have operational strategic bombers.

Transports

; Airbus C295
Airbus Defence and Space and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) will jointly execute the project to equip the air force with 56 C-295 transport aircraft under the Make in India initiative in the aerospace sector. Under the contract, Airbus will supply the first 16 aircraft in flyaway condition while the remaining 40 will be assembled in India by TASL, the officials said. The procurement of 56 C-295 from Airbus with the participation of an Indian production agency for the manufacture of 40 aircraft (out of a total of 56) in India is at the financial approval stage and the contract is likely to be signed in the near future, the defence ministry said in its year-end review. While the C-295s are meant to replace the Avro-748 transport planes, the new aircraft will also be suitable for the demanding roles that the An-32 currently undertakes. The first 16 planes will be supplied in two years, and the deliveries of the 40 locally assembled ones will be spread over an additional eight years. The aircraft can operate from short, unprepared airstrips and carry out a variety of missions in all-weather conditions.

Helicopters

;HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH)
The IAF will deploy indigenously developed HAL Light Combat Helicopters for its combat operations, complementing AH-64D Apache, after the Operational certificate is granted. Limited Series Production of 15 LCH started in 2017 (5 for Army, 10 for Air Force). The Indian Air Force has placed an order for 65 LCHs. The type is also intended to be sold on the export market.
;HAL Rudra
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is now developing the HAL Dhruv Weapon System Integrated (WSI) helicopter named HAL Rudra. It is a variant of Dhruv (ALH) MK-4 to strengthen the fleet of attack helicopters. Indian Air Force placed an order for 38 Rudra helicopters.
; Mi-17V-5
In July 2018, the Indian Air Force was looking to place an additional order of 48 Mi-17V5 aircraft. Some older Mi-17s are due for engine overhauls. In April 2022, the Indian Air Force decided to cancel plans to buy 48 more Mi-17 V5 helicopters from Russia.

;HAL Dhruv
IAF operates the indigenously developed Advance Light Helicopter HAL Dhruv for various purposes including the transportation of troops and logistics, as well as limited search and rescue operations. 46 have been delivered to IAF, with 65(+) on order with HAL.

; Kamov Ka-226T
In December 2014, Kamov Ka-226T was selected as a Light Utility Helicopter and an initial replacement for Chetak & Cheetah, while the LUH was under development. Kamov would set up a production plant in India and around 197 would be procured under the "Make in India" programme. The agreement on manufacture of Kamov 226 helicopter in India is the first project for a major defence platform under the Make In India mission.
; HAL Light Utility Helicopter
In March 2021, the Ministry of Defence placed an initial order of six light utility helicopters for the Indian Airforce. The deliveries are expected to commence from August 2022.

Uncrewed aerial vehicles

The Indian Air Force has submitted a request for information to international suppliers for an uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV) with a low-radar cross-section, high service ceiling, an expected range of 500 nm (925 km) and the capability to carry precision-guided weapons in an internal weapons bay.

Trainers

; HAL HTT-40
The IAF was planning to acquire 181 basic trainer aircraft & IAF selected Switzerland's Pilatus Aircraft to supply 75 PC-7 Mk.II trainer planes for $1 billion. The Indian Ministry of Defence wanted to buy an additional 106 basic trainer aircraft from Pilatus in a separate deal. However, on 28 February 2015, it was reported that Ministry of Defence has selected 70 HAL HTT-40 trainers and 38 Pilatus trainers to replace its current trainer aircraft fleet stating that this move was "commercially viable" under the "Make in India" programme. In 2017, HAL CMD reported that HAL will soon sign a contract for 106 HTT-40 aircraft and deliver it to the air force.

In May 2020, Chief of the Air Staff ACM Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria announced the plan to shelve the order for additional Pilatus PC-7 for the indigenous HAL HTT-40.

Cruise missiles

DRDO has developed the air-launched version of the BrahMos

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