The Indian Air Force (IAF) has begun the process of finding a successor to its Hawk Mk-132 advanced jet trainers, issuing a Request for Information (RFI) for around 150 aircraft. The proposed Stage-III (F) trainers will prepare fighter pilots for the transition to frontline aircraft such as the Rafale, Tejas and, eventually, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The RFI has been issued to Indian and global manufacturers, with responses due by October 5. The trials will be conducted in India on a no-cost, no-commitment basis. The requirement remains at the information-gathering stage and does not represent a final procurement commitment. The formal Request for Proposal (RFP), which will begin the bidding process, is tentatively scheduled for December 2027.

The IAF has specified “Buy (Indian) or better” as its preferred procurement category and asked manufacturers to provide details on indigenous content and technology transfer. Likely foreign contenders include Leonardo’s M-346 Master and Korea Aerospace Industries’ T-50 family, while Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s proposed HLFT-42 is the principal Indian option. Deliveries are expected to take up to 60 months after the contract becomes effective, meaning the first aircraft may not arrive at an IAF training base before the mid-2030s.

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The new trainer is expected to offer capabilities far beyond those of the Hawk Mk-132. The IAF has sought fly-by-wire controls, a glass cockpit, hands-on-throttle-and-stick controls, NavIC-enabled navigation, zero-zero ejection seats and systems capable of automatically recovering the aircraft after a loss of pilot control. The aircraft will also feature embedded virtual avionics and electronic warfare systems, missile-seeker simulation and secure data links connecting it with advanced simulator-based training environments.

The IAF also wants the aircraft to support rapid hot refuelling and rearming, with a turnaround time of less than 30 minutes, an engine-change time of under an hour and AI-based predictive maintenance. An open architecture would allow future upgrades to software and hardware without being completely dependent on the original manufacturer. These requirements reflect the growing complexity of modern aerial warfare, including networked sensors, electronic warfare, long-range weapons and sophisticated data links.

The IAF currently has 106 contracted Hawk Mk-132 aircraft, which entered service in February 2008 and have served as the principal Stage-III trainer for nearly two decades. The search for a replacement comes as the force operates with 29 fighter squadrons against an authorised strength of 42.5. A modern advanced trainer could reduce the need to use frontline fighters for training while creating a more capable transition platform for future combat aircraft. However, the long procurement timeline means the Hawk fleet is likely to remain an important part of the training pipeline for several more years.