Since the middle of the last decade when the “Open Tender” system under the Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) for the purchase of military hardware was introduced, cancellation of tenders by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) appears to have become a routine affair. The most recent case pertains to the request for proposal (RFP) for a new engine for the fleet of Jaguar aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Of the fleet of Jaguars described as deep penetration strike aircraft (DPSA), acquired for the IAF in the late 1970s from the UK, around 125 remain in service. The ageing fleet is in need of major midlife upgrade to remain as a frontline combat aircraft. The aircraft currently powered by two Adour Mk 811 turbofan engines has a rather unfavourable thrust to weight ratio and hence is inherently underpowered. This feature has an adverse impact on the performance envelope especially in the demanding hot and high operating environments. Thus, apart from the upgrade of avionics and other systems, the Jaguars need new and significantly more powerful engines.

With the aim to gainfully utilise the residual airframe life of 10 to 15 years or so, a decision was taken a few years ago to replace the Adour 811 engines with more powerful ones. Thus, an RFP for new engines of higher thrust was issued by the MoD on November 26, 2010, to two of the engine manufacturers—Rolls-Royce, the supplier of Adour 811 engines currently fitted on the Jaguar aircraft of the IAF, and to the American aerospace major Honeywell that produces the F125IN which is regarded as a possible replacement.

Rolls-Royce initially offered the Adour Mk 821 which in fact is only an upgraded version of the Adour Mk 811 and although it can deliver higher thrust, it is not actually a new engine. In the strictest sense, there is a possibility that the Rolls-Royce offer could therefore be considered to be technically noncompliant. However, the Adour Mk 821 offered certain advantages. Firstly, it was a product of proven technology and has a high degree of commonality with two other engines from the same company in use in the IAF—the Adour Mk 871 turbofan fitted on the Hawk Mk132, and its predecessor, the Adour Mk 811 turbofan engines that power the Jaguar fleet.

As compared with the engine currently fitted on the Jaguar, the F125IN turbofan from Honeywell delivers 30 per cent higher thrust. Honeywell claims that the F125IN would offer “improved pilot safety, lower maintenance costs and outstanding reliability”. Honeywell also claimed that the modular construction of the F125IN and its integral dual full authority digital engine control (FADEC) system would provide substantial savings to the operator in life-cycle costs. It is however not clear whether or to what extent an ageing airframe will be able to fully and gainfully exploit the significantly higher level of thrust the two F125IN engines are capable of delivering.

The F125IN fitted on a Jaguar was successfully demonstrated to the IAF in 2007. Honeywell has moved forward since then acquiring its own Jaguar airframe and has completed design of its standard engines for production and is now ready for flight demonstration. Rolls-Royce opted to withdraw from the contest rather than be eliminated, resulting in a “single vendor situation”. Now, as dictated by the provisions of the DPP, the MoD has been compelled to withdraw the RFP.

The three options are – to make a fresh proposal and re-tender with modified technical parameters which is time-consuming negotiations; or to follow the FMS route that would obviate the need for “open tender” and inviting bids from a number of vendors. Recent history of deals pertaining to the procurement of defence equipment indicates that the FMS route has the best chance of successfully inducting urgently required defence hardware.

The third option is to scrap the re-engining programme for the Jaguar fleet and gradually phase out the aircraft, an option that may not be readily acceptable to the IAF.