New Delhi, April 4 The Ministry of Defence has initiated the process for the indigenous design and development of a 1,000-kg aerial bomb, similar to the Mk-84, for the Indian Air Force (IAF), aiming to boost India's 'self-reliance' in the sector, according to senior officials.
The project is structured in two phases. The first involves the design and development of six prototypes (both live and inert), including associated tail units and equipment, they said.
The second phase is the procurement phase, which will begin with the issuance of a commercial Request for Proposal (RFP) to qualifying development agencies.
The system is intended to be "compatible with both Russian and Western-origin aircraft" currently operated by the Indian Air Force (IAF), a senior official said.
The Ministry of Defence has "issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the design, development, and procurement of 1,000-kg aerial bombs (similar to Mk-84), along with tail units and associated equipment, under the provisions of the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP) 2020," the official said.
The project will be executed under the 'Make-II' (industry-funded) sub-category, followed by procurement under the 'Buy (Indian–IDDM)' category.
IDDM stands for Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured.
A total of "600 aerial bombs" are planned to be procured under the 'Buy (Indian–IDDM)' category in accordance with the DAP 2020 provisions, the officials said.
Currently, Mk-84 class general-purpose bombs are procured from foreign original equipment manufacturers and are in service with the IAF, the senior official said.
The proposed aerial bomb is described as a "high-calibremunition capable of generating a high blast effect and significant peak over-pressure (PoP) against enemy targets," they said.
The first phase of the project will be undertaken by the selected development agencies, and it includes single-stage composite trials (SSCT), after which preliminary staff qualitative requirements (PSQRs) will be converted into air staff qualitative requirements (ASQRs), the official said.
The development phase is required to achieve a minimum of 50 per cent indigenous content.
The estimated timeline for the project is approximately 2.5 years from EoI issuance to contract signing, the officials said.
This includes prototype development, followed by user trials and subsequent stages involving evaluation, commercial processes, and contract finalisation.
The IAF will enable this process, promoting indigenous development so that it can be scaled up in operations.
The trials will be conducted within India at IAF units or other designated locations and will involve testing on a specified IAF aircraft platform, the officials said.
Participation in the EoI is open to eligible Indian entities, including the private industry, with provisions for foreign collaboration under defined conditions, such as joint ventures, transfer of technology, or commercial off-the-shelf arrangements.
However, the respondents must clearly demonstrate compliance with indigenous design and manufacturing requirements, even in cases involving foreign partners, the officials said.
Evaluation of responses will be based on financial and technical criteria as per the DAP.
Technical evaluation will assess engineering capability, infrastructure, integration capacity, indigenous content levels, and compliance with PSQRs, the officials said.