<p>Air Force Chief Arup Raha on Thursday said the service does not have a Plan B on the procurement of 126 fighter jets, ruling out speculation on increasing the intake of Russian Su-30 MKI to replace French-made Rafale.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Air Force chief said Su-30 MKI cannot replace Rafale as medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) because the two jets belong to different classes. <br /><br />“There is no Plan B as of now. We are working only on Plan A. It is important to have MMRCA and Rafale is the L1 candidate,” Air Chief Marshal Raha said at Aero-India.<br />The IAF chief asserted that Su-30 MKI aircraft cannot be considered as MMRCA replacements – a speculation triggered by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.<br />“There are MMRCA and there is Sukhoi-30. The requirements are slightly different. They have their own capabilities. They compliment each other but do not replace each other,” Raha said.<br /><br />Underlining the obsolescence factor in the Air Force, Raha said, “Everyone is aware of the draw-down combat squadrons in the IAF. Every air force faces this in its cycle of operations. It is not new or specific to IAF.” In December, a Parliamentary Standing Committee report pointed out that the IAF squadron strength was not up to the mark. “The IAF requires at least 45 fighter squadrons to counter a two front collusive threat. The IAF today has 25 active fighter squadrons,” the report had said. <br /><br />Out of the 25 active squadrons, as many as 14 are equipped with MiG-21 and MiG-27 aircraft, which will retire between 2015 and 2024 and if there is no replacement, the strength will be reduced to just 11 squadrons by 2024, it had added. <br /><br />Meanwhile, the MiG-21 and MiG-27 fleet are in the process of being phased out. The first batch four MiG-21 FL (Type-77) retired from the service in December 2013. <br />Two other MiG-21 variants—Type-96, Type-75 and MiG-27—are set to be phased out while the upgraded MiG-21 BISONs will fly till 2025.<br /><br />Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said he asked the contract negotiation committee to submit its report by the end of February or early March for a quick decision. <br />As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Paris, there are expectations from both sides that a positive announcement might be expected during the bilateral trip.<br /></p>
<p>Air Force Chief Arup Raha on Thursday said the service does not have a Plan B on the procurement of 126 fighter jets, ruling out speculation on increasing the intake of Russian Su-30 MKI to replace French-made Rafale.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The Air Force chief said Su-30 MKI cannot replace Rafale as medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) because the two jets belong to different classes. <br /><br />“There is no Plan B as of now. We are working only on Plan A. It is important to have MMRCA and Rafale is the L1 candidate,” Air Chief Marshal Raha said at Aero-India.<br />The IAF chief asserted that Su-30 MKI aircraft cannot be considered as MMRCA replacements – a speculation triggered by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar.<br />“There are MMRCA and there is Sukhoi-30. The requirements are slightly different. They have their own capabilities. They compliment each other but do not replace each other,” Raha said.<br /><br />Underlining the obsolescence factor in the Air Force, Raha said, “Everyone is aware of the draw-down combat squadrons in the IAF. Every air force faces this in its cycle of operations. It is not new or specific to IAF.” In December, a Parliamentary Standing Committee report pointed out that the IAF squadron strength was not up to the mark. “The IAF requires at least 45 fighter squadrons to counter a two front collusive threat. The IAF today has 25 active fighter squadrons,” the report had said. <br /><br />Out of the 25 active squadrons, as many as 14 are equipped with MiG-21 and MiG-27 aircraft, which will retire between 2015 and 2024 and if there is no replacement, the strength will be reduced to just 11 squadrons by 2024, it had added. <br /><br />Meanwhile, the MiG-21 and MiG-27 fleet are in the process of being phased out. The first batch four MiG-21 FL (Type-77) retired from the service in December 2013. <br />Two other MiG-21 variants—Type-96, Type-75 and MiG-27—are set to be phased out while the upgraded MiG-21 BISONs will fly till 2025.<br /><br />Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said he asked the contract negotiation committee to submit its report by the end of February or early March for a quick decision. <br />As Prime Minister Narendra Modi is slated to visit Paris, there are expectations from both sides that a positive announcement might be expected during the bilateral trip.<br /></p>
