SOURCE: AFI
In a candid reflection on one of India’s largest defense procurement efforts, Air Marshal M. Matheswaran (retired), who was intricately involved in the tendering process for the 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) for the Indian Air Force (IAF), has expressed regret over the decision to not proceed with the contract. “MMRCA should have gone through. It was a blunder not going for it,” he stated in an interview with the EurAsian Times, highlighting the potential benefits that were lost.
The MMRCA project, initially conceived in August 2000 with a proposal to acquire 126 Mirage 2000 II aircraft, underwent significant changes. By 2004, the original proposal was discarded, and in 2007, a new initiative was launched to procure 126 aircraft under the MMRCA banner. This process, which lasted nearly 15 years, involved extensive evaluations and negotiations before being abruptly terminated in 2016, with the Indian government opting instead to purchase 36 Rafale jets directly from France as an emergency measure.
The IAF’s rigorous technical evaluation concluded by April 2010, where six aircraft from different manufacturers were assessed against 643 technical parameters. These evaluations took place in diverse conditions, from the scorching summer altitudes of Ladakh to the sub-zero temperatures of the same region in winter, ensuring the aircraft could perform under India’s varied operational environments. By April 2011, the competition had narrowed down to the French Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon, with Rafale eventually emerging as the lowest bidder (L1), setting the stage for what should have been the final contract negotiations.
However, the path to finalizing the deal was fraught with complications. Air Marshal Matheswaran pointed out that the French were backpaddling on the transfer of technology (ToT), which was crucial for the project’s success in terms of skill development and establishing world-class manufacturing in India. The tender specified that 18 aircraft would be purchased outright, while the remaining 108 were to be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Dassault Aviation, the maker of Rafale, expressed reservations about HAL’s ability to meet the required standards for manufacturing, which was seen as a strategic delay tactic.
The reluctance of Dassault to fully commit to the ToT clauses and the complexities surrounding the partnership with HAL led to the eventual scrapping of the MMRCA deal in September 2016. Instead, India opted for a government-to-government deal for 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition, bypassing the substantial industrial and technological benefits that the original MMRCA contract promised.
Air Marshal Matheswaran’s critique underscores the missed opportunity for India to enhance its defense manufacturing capabilities and foster high-level skill development within the country. The MMRCA deal was not just about acquiring new aircraft but was also pivotal for the transfer of technology, which could have significantly bolstered India’s self-reliance in defense production.