The Indian Air Force (IAF) is one of the most important arms of the Indian armed forces. And what makes the IAF a lethal force to take on, are its deadly fighter jets- some old, few new and some being inducted in a phased manner.

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is one of the most important arms of the Indian armed forces. And what makes the IAF a lethal force to take on, are its deadly fighter jets- some old, few new and some being inducted in a phased manner. The Indian Air Force has a total sanctioned strength of 42- a number arrived at by considering a two-front war scenario on the Chinese and the Pakistan fronts. However, given the phasing out of some of its old jets such as MiG-23, MiG-21s and other such obsolete aircraft, the IAF is down to 31 operational squadrons.

The government has signed a contract with French Dassault Aviation for 36 fighter jets. The contract was signed at 7.8 billion euros by the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The existing squadrons of the MiG-21s and 27 will be retiring by 2022 and the projected squadron strength is likely to deplete further to 19 by 2027 and 16 by 2032. The government has thus asked the IAF to go shopping for the single as well as twin-engine fighters. 

At present, the Sukhoi-30 MKI forms the mainstay of the fighter strength of the IAF. A multi-role jet procured from Russia and produced within India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Transfer of Technology (ToT), Sukhoi is a twin-engine, two-seater fighter jet capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
It is capable of carrying a variety of medium-range guided air to air missiles with active or semi-active radar or Infra red homing close range missiles. It has a max speed of 2500 km/hr (Mach 2.35).

According to its official website, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is the smallest and lightest Multi-Role Supersonic Fighter Aircraft of its class. A single-engine, Compound-Delta-Wing, aircraft is designed and developed by India's very own Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) along with DRDO.

While the project has been running behind schedule, the induction of the fighter jet, which will continue to take place in a phased manner may help the IAF to replace the retiring aircraft. 

While the induction of Rafale is scheduled to begin starting 2019, the IAF is already hunting for the single as well as twin engine fighters to meet the deficit. It may be noted that instead of the original 126 MMRCA contract- under which Rafale was being sought by the IAF, only 36 were bought by the government in flyaway condition.

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