“IAF giving priority to singleengine fighters”

Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa, CAS has said that having a new fleet of single engine fighters was a “priority” for the IAF and the request for information (RFI) for this was to be issued “very soon”. The selected fighter will be produced jointly by a foreign aircraft maker along with an Indian company under the recently launched strategic partnership model which aims to bring in high-end defence technology to India.In this context, Saab of Sweden and the Indian Adani group had announced their collaboration while US defence firm Lockheed Martin had earlier announced their teaming with the Tata Group. The IAF chief, however, said the Service has the requirement for more twin engine fighters as well, beyond the 36 Rafales ordered in 2016 and the continuing manufacture of Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs by HAL in India.