New Delhi, June 25: Indian Air Force would undertake new evaluation of the tenders for the Advanced Jet Trainers if the government decides to have a "fresh look", Air Force Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy said today as he ruled out any phasing out of the accident-prone MiG-21 fleet. "The final decision on the AJT is pending with the cabinet and if the government decides to have a fresh look at the deal for purchasing the much-needed trainers for IAF, we will have to do it," he told a news conference here.
He said that the IAF submitted its technical feasibility on the AJT tenders to the government, adding that the deal had been pending for than a decade and now "new players with new technology had come into the field".
Admitting that the IAF had "flight tested" the new Czech bidders l-159B AJT, Krishnaswamy said it was now for the government to take action on the induction of the AJT.
Asserting that there were no technical or design faults in all the 11 variants of the mig-21 fleet and said the aircraft would fly till their life span, which would vary on when the aircraft entered service with the IAF.
Bureau Report