With the Indian Air Force combat operational strength dipping to dangerously low levels — the fleet strength is down to 32 squadrons from 39 — and the induction of 126 new aircraft to replace its ageing fleet unlikely to happen in the near future, French avionics major Thales said on Thursday it was waiting for an early nod from New Delhi to go ahead with upgradation of the IAF’s existing Mirage 2000 fleet “to bridge the gap between current and future generations” of combat aircraft.

Thales Airborne Systems CEO Pierre-Yves Chaltiel told a group of visiting Indian journalists that France was ready to upgrade the IAF fleet of 51 Mirage 2000 to the Mirage 2000-5 level. “This will significantly enhance the IAF airpower potential and give it a coherent platform-system combination for the next 20 years at a far lower cost than acquisition of new aircraft capable of equivalent performance,” he said.

Gerard Christmann, General Manager, Business Line, Electronic Combat Solutions in the Thales Aerospace Division, said they were counting on an early Indian go-ahead for the upgrade programme. “We hope a decision comes through this year and the programme becomes effective before general elections in India. Otherwise, there is a big risk of at least a two-year delay because a new government in place could well mean that the whole process starts all over again. But from the talks that we have had, we get the impression that the IAF wants to move on this quickly,” Christmann said.

According to Chaltiel, the upgrade programme is led by the French Government in association with the three original equipment manufacturers — Dassault Aviation (system integration and aircraft modification), Thales (equipment, subsystems) and MBDA (Mica missile). This partnership is able to guarantee state-of-the-art equipment including the RDY3 radar, ICMS Mk 4 integrated countermeasures suite and the modular data processing unit.

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