After the cancellation of a tender for the Jaguar fighter aircraft engine upgrade, the decision to equip the Indian Air force (IAF) fleet of Jaguar fighters with new engines from a single vendor has been finalized. The IAF feels that the Jaguar fleet needs urgent upgrades as its airframe and its systems still have the potential to serve the force. The deal for roughly 250 new engines, inclusive of spares, should be worth more than $ 2 billion.
The Jaguar upgrades have been on the agenda of the IAF since last year when an RFP was issued to Rolls Royce, who had originally provided the Adour 102 engines in the fighter aircraft, and Honeywell from the US which offered engines at competitive rates. With Rolls Royce opting out of the tender, the Indian Defence Ministry cancelled the tender. As of now, the government has decided to process the case on a single vendor basis to extract the most suitable engine out of a chosen vendor.
The Jaguars are equipped with two Adour Mk811s turbofan engines but it has been observed that the fighters were low on thrust and were no longer fit for the new role the IAF had for them. In addition, India's hot climate further distressed the matter. Hence, new high thrust engines for the Jaguars were sought and the two contenders to provide new engines were Rolls-Royce with its Adour Mk821s and US-based Honeywell with F125IN. As for the upgrades of the IAF Jaguars, these will include modernisation of avionics, sensors for night operations, and integration of helmet mounted sights for the pilots besides the new engines.
Apparently, Rolls Royce planned to drop out of the IAF re-engining competition due to the fact that the IAF was looking at an engine replacement programme rather than an engine upgrade, which could have other implications. Rolls Royce's was working out an optimised cost effective Adour engine upgrade programme which would minimise aircraft integration. Rolls Royce had offered to replace/upgrade certain key components and subsystems in the Jaguar fleet's existing Mk811 engines. Hence, it would be a selective engine upgrade, and not a full replacement. However, the RFP that went out called for a full engine replacement. Hence, Rolls Royce backed out leaving Honeywell the sole competitor in the 200-engine competition.
In the past, the Jaguars with the IAF have received various enhancements under the Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation (DARIN) series of upgrade programmes. The DARIN III sought to add, amongst other things, a multimode fire control radar to the Jaguar IS/IT variants. However, the various upgrades, although offering vastly improved combat capabilities, have also increased the overall weight of the aircraft ultimately resulting in it becoming underpowered. Even the weight and thrust issues are becoming serious and are undermining the performance of the aircraft. India's 'hot and high' conditions and the Jaguars' medium-level role, which it was never intended to fulfill, have further complicated matters.
India to Settle for a Single Vendor for Jaguar Upgrade
The Jaguar upgrades have been on the agenda of the IAF since last year when an RFP was issued to Rolls Royce, who had originally provided the Adour 102 engines in the fighter aircraft, and Honeywell from the US which offered engines at competitive rates. With Rolls Royce opting out of the tender, the Indian Defence Ministry cancelled the tender. As of now, the government has decided to process the case on a single vendor basis to extract the most suitable engine out of a chosen vendor.
The Jaguars are equipped with two Adour Mk811s turbofan engines but it has been observed that the fighters were low on thrust and were no longer fit for the new role the IAF had for them. In addition, India's hot climate further distressed the matter. Hence, new high thrust engines for the Jaguars were sought and the two contenders to provide new engines were Rolls-Royce with its Adour Mk821s and US-based Honeywell with F125IN. As for the upgrades of the IAF Jaguars, these will include modernisation of avionics, sensors for night operations, and integration of helmet mounted sights for the pilots besides the new engines.
Apparently, Rolls Royce planned to drop out of the IAF re-engining competition due to the fact that the IAF was looking at an engine replacement programme rather than an engine upgrade, which could have other implications. Rolls Royce's was working out an optimised cost effective Adour engine upgrade programme which would minimise aircraft integration. Rolls Royce had offered to replace/upgrade certain key components and subsystems in the Jaguar fleet's existing Mk811 engines. Hence, it would be a selective engine upgrade, and not a full replacement. However, the RFP that went out called for a full engine replacement. Hence, Rolls Royce backed out leaving Honeywell the sole competitor in the 200-engine competition.
In the past, the Jaguars with the IAF have received various enhancements under the Display Attack Ranging Inertial Navigation (DARIN) series of upgrade programmes. The DARIN III sought to add, amongst other things, a multimode fire control radar to the Jaguar IS/IT variants. However, the various upgrades, although offering vastly improved combat capabilities, have also increased the overall weight of the aircraft ultimately resulting in it becoming underpowered. Even the weight and thrust issues are becoming serious and are undermining the performance of the aircraft. India's 'hot and high' conditions and the Jaguars' medium-level role, which it was never intended to fulfill, have further complicated matters.
India to Settle for a Single Vendor for Jaguar Upgrade