A Mirage 2000 fighter

New Delhi, April 1: The Indian Air Force is trying to cut down the number of aircraft types in its inventory even as its drive to acquire 126 multi-role fighters has unleashed fierce competition among global defence companies and governments backing them.

The IAF flies 20 different types of aircraft that make the fleet?s management complex. In acquiring new aircraft, the air headquarters favours a policy that will not complicate the inventory further but will also not increase dependence on a single supplier, the director-general (inspection and air safety), Air Marshal P.S. Ahluwalia, said today.

?It may not be prudent to put all our eggs in one basket. But it would reduce the effort in terms of maintenance practices (by opting for a familiar supplier),? he said.

The air marshal?s comments come against the backdrop of four defence manufacturers jostling for the order for multi-role combat aircraft.

Washington has mounted an intense bid to supply Lockheed Martin-produced F-16s. Also in the fray are Sweden?s SAAB with its Gripen, France?s Dassault Aviation with its Mirage 2000-V and Russia?s double-engined MiG-29M/M2. The IAF inventory has earlier versions of the Mirage 2000 and the MiG-29, but not the American or the Swedish aircraft.

Of the four, the IAF clearly has a higher comfort level with the Mirage 2000. It operates two Mirage squadrons and the cabinet committee on security this week cleared the acquisition of 12 used Mirage 2000-Vs from the Qatari air force.

Ahluwalia also made a presentation that showed human error-related accidents in the Mirage 2000s operated by the French and Indian Air Forces were less than similar accidents in the US air force-operated F-16s.

However, he said, this was not intended to favour one aircraft over the other because all four ?more or less meets the IAF?s needs?.

Air Marshal Ahluwalia also said the IAF was modernising 12 squadrons of its ageing MiG-21 fighters, up from the original plan to upgrade six squadrons. The upgraded MiG-21s are called the MiG-21 ?Bisons?.

?It (the MiG-21) is our mainstay and is very efficient. It is capable and has plenty of residual life. It will continue to feed our requirements till 2016,? he said.