New Delhi. The Indian Air Force (IAF) should start getting delivery of its 126 Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MRCAs) from 2012 onwards.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal F H Major told India Strategic that the six contenders were due to submit their response to the Request for Proposal (RfPs) or tenders by March 3rd, and that IAF should roughly take six months for technical evaluation of paperwork to match the submissions with the Air Staff Requirements (ASRs), and then about a year to complete the field trials for the platforms, systems and weapons.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources also indicated that it should not take them more than a year-and-a-half to examine and clear the IAF recommendations in making the choice and placing the order.

As per the Defence Procurement Policy (DPP) 2006, the platforms would be tested in India, and some strategic systems and weapons in the country of origin of the aircraft, at the cost of the contender.

There are six contenders in the fray to supply the MRCAs, the US Boeing and Lockheed Martin with their F-18 Super Hornet and F-16 IN, Swedish Gripen, French Rafale, Russian Mig 35 and the European consortium’s Eurofighter.

Their bids would be in two parts, Technical and Financial.

The financial bids of only those contenders would be opened whose aircraft, systems and weapons are successful in the trials. While the lowest bid would be regarded as the final, or what is called L-1, there would be negotiations about the onboard systems.

The would supply 18 of the 126 jets in a fly-away condition, and the rest would be progressively assembled and made in India with mandatory Transfer of Technology (toT).

Indications are that eventually, with indigenous production, the number of MRCAs could go up to 200 or more.