Stage set for MMRCA 2.0 with French aerospace vendor Dassault's Rafale

If no other fighter manufacturer makes a surprise appearance before July 6, the IAF will find itself conducting what aerospace industry experts disparage as MMRCA 2.0

French aerospace vendor Dassault says it will offer the Rafale in a global tender floated by the Indian Air Force (IAF) on April 6, inviting vendor interest for supplying 110 fighter aircraft.

Dassault’s representative in India, Posina Venkata Rao confirmed to Business Standard on Wednesday that the Rafale would be fielded in the contest.  That sets the stage for a re-run of the failed 'medium multi-role combat aircraft' (MMRCA) procurement that the IAF conceived in 2000, officially tendered in 2007 and eventually abandoned in 2015.

With Airbus Defence and Space confirming on Tuesday that Eurofighter GmbH would offer the Typhoon