The Ministry of Defence has issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the indigenous design and development of a 1,000-kg aerial bomb for the Indian Air Force, in a move aimed at strengthening self-reliance in defence manufacturing under the ‘Aatmanirbharta’ initiative.
According to senior officials, the proposed system will be akin to the widely used Mk-84 class general-purpose bomb, which is currently procured from foreign original equipment manufacturers and is in service with the IAF.
The project has been structured in two phases. The first phase involves the design and development of six prototypes — both live and inert — along with associated tail units and equipment. This phase will also include single-stage composite trials (SSCT), following which preliminary staff qualitative requirements (PSQRs) will be refined into air staff qualitative requirements (ASQRs).
The second phase will focus on procurement, beginning with the issuance of a commercial Request for Proposal (RFP) to agencies that successfully complete the development stage.
Officials said the bomb is intended to be compatible with both Russian and Western-origin aircraft currently operated by the IAF, enhancing operational flexibility across platforms.
The project will be executed under the ‘Make-II’ (industry-funded) sub-category of the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, followed by procurement under the ‘Buy (Indian–IDDM)’ category. IDDM refers to Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured systems.
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A total of 600 such aerial bombs are planned to be procured under this category, in line with the provisions of the policy.
Describing the proposed munition, officials said it would be a natural fragmentation, high-calibre weapon capable of delivering a high blast effect and generating significant peak over-pressure against enemy targets.
The development phase is expected to achieve at least 50 per cent indigenous content. Participation in the EoI is open to eligible Indian entities, including private sector firms, with provisions for foreign collaboration through joint ventures, transfer of technology or commercial arrangements, subject to compliance with indigenisation requirements.
Evaluation of proposals will be based on both technical and financial criteria. Technical assessment will focus on engineering capability, infrastructure, integration capacity and adherence to qualitative requirements.
The estimated timeline for the project is around two-and-a-half years from the issuance of the EoI to the signing of the contract, including prototype development, user trials, evaluation and commercial processes.
Officials said the initiative is expected to bolster domestic capabilities and reduce dependence on imports, while enabling scalable deployment for operational requirements of the IAF.
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