Let us again consider the two basic theses that we have to choose from: first, that MMRCA was first and foremost a political exercise and its result the outcome that best served India’s political (geopolitical, strategic) interests; and the alternative: that MMRCA was a run-of-the-mill IAF acquisition program, its result reflecting performance and financial considerations alone and thus being of no political significance.
In presenting the latter argument, Ashley Tellis notes some curious features of the selection process and its execution: that it was structured so as to exclude value-for-money considerations (the two aircraft that were shortlisted being the two most expensive contenders) and further that in assessing performance the IAF appeared to place a premium on aerodynamic performance (acceleration, turn rate, etc.) ahead of integrated/electronic systems performance. He also notes some inconsistencies in evaluation, with developmental American engines being penalised as such, whilst developmental European radars were not. For Tellis, these factors and others are reasons why American observers should not feel slighted or in any other way discomfited by the result.
This author would suggest a different interpretation: that these apparent flaws in the selection process were deliberate, and indicate that its aim was something other than it appeared to be; that India knew precisely where its interests lay and structured the evaluation process to produce the result that was obtained. Tellis’ thesis is that the evaluation process was multifariously flawed: first, by not taking strategic interests into account; second, by not considering value-for-money in the initial evaluation phase; and third by misconstruing what qualifies as ‘performance’ in the modern combat environment. One wonders what the United States could really have to gain by partnering with a nation that apparently has no idea what it is doing.
Curiously, prior to the down-select that eliminated the American (and Russian and Swedish) contenders, Tellis had little difficulty in identifying those non-operational/financial factors likely to influence India’s decision:
Political considerations, however, will be key in the selection process. In choosing the winning platform, Indian policymakers will seek to: minimize the country’s vulnerability to supply cut-offs in wartime, improve its larger military capacity through a substantial technology infusion, and forge new transformative geopolitical partnerships that promise to accelerate the growth of Indian power globally.
Only when the American aircraft were eliminated from contention did this narrative become unpalatable.
