SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG
Officials of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) at the recently concluded DefExpo in Gujrat have confirmed to idrw.org that they have no plans to develop an Air force version of the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) that the organization is developing for the Indian Navy for its requirements for a Deck based fighter jet to operate from the Indian Aircraft carrier.
26-ton aircraft is designed around requirements set by the Indian Navy and Air Force has not shown any interest in its requirement as its backing the development of 25-ton AMCA and 17.5-ton Tejas MkII fighter jets to meet its requirement for its combat fleet for the next 15-20 years.
When asked if the 13000 crores program can be justified when the requirement is just for 45 units, idrw.org was told that it is an initial requirement that will be procured to replace the Mig-29K fleet but the Navy will eventually procure close to 100 units as it plans to operate three aircraft carrier and has reduced its requirement for foreign deck based fighter from 57 jets to now only 27 jets to accommodate more TEDBF jets at later stages.
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