Article by Dr Sheikh Akhter
Executive Assessment
Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) is not simply a support function; it is a strategic force multiplier. It extends the range and endurance of combat aircraft, supports long-distance deployments, increases time on the station, and gives commanders greater flexibility in how air power is employed. For the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy, the challenges are manifolds: secure reliable tanker capacity in the near term and build the technologies, integration skills, and sustainment base needed for long-term self-reliance.
India should, therefore, pursue a two-track approach: acquire replacement tanker capacity while simultaneously developing indigenous refuelling equipment, aircraft integration, testing, and maintenance capabilities. Buying or converting tanker aircraft alone will not create technological independence.
Where India Stands: Capability, Programmes and Important Distinctions
The IAF operates six Russian-origin Ilyushin IL-78MKI tanker aircraft, inducted in 2003. The fleet has faced longstanding availability and maintenance challenges. A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit reported average IL-78 serviceability of about 49 per cent during 2010–11 to 2015–16 and highlighted poor serviceability of aerial-refueling pods, limited repair capability and dependence on original-equipment-manufacturer support.
These are historical audit findings, not a statement of the fleet’s present-day availability.
A replacement effort has moved forward. In January 2026, reporting said the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) had accorded Acceptance of Necessity for six pre-owned Boeing 767 aircraft to be converted into tankers by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), with price negotiations and further approvals still to follow. This should not be described as a signed supply contract or completed induction unless a subsequent official contract announcement confirms it.
HAL and IAI separately signed an MoU on 6 April 2022 to convert pre-owned civil aircraft in India into Multi-Mission Tanker Transport (MMTT) aircraft, with cargo and transport capability; the cooperation also covers passenger-to-freighter conversions. HAL’s release describes a conversion and industrial-cooperation framework. The MoU itself is not proof that six aircraft have been contracted, delivered or converted.
On the indigenous side, DRDO published an open tender titled ‘Development of Air-to-Air Pod’ on 02 September 2026. Public tender listings show the bid deadline was extended to 30 November 2026. This is a concrete development opportunity, but the public listing alone does not establish the pod’s detailed design, performance targets, selected developer, or eventual service-entry date.
The IAF currently relies on foreign-origin refuelling pods fitted to its IL-78MKI tankers. Their ageing, reliability, and sustainment problems make indigenous replacement important.
AAR Capability Across the Fighter Fleet
The IAF’s existing fighter fleet has in-flight refuelling capability. This includes platforms such as the Su-30MKI, Rafale, Mirage 2000, MiG-29UPG, and Tejas.
The key issue is not simply installing a refuelling probe. It ensures aircraft-tanker compatibility, operational certification, trained crews, and reliable fuel-transfer equipment.
Status of India’s Aerial Refuelling Ecosystem
The Air Chief’s latest interview is particularly important: he confirms that the six-aircraft procurement has an AoN dated 16 February 2024, that the contract is expected shortly, and that additional tanker aircraft are being considered.
India has already demonstrated an important receiver-aircraft milestone: on 10 September 2018, the LCA Tejas Mk1 completed a wet-contact refueling trial with an IAF tanker, following dry-contact trials on 4 and 6 September. The Ministry of Defence credited DRDO-ADA, IAF, HAL and other agencies. This demonstrated a capability on the test aircraft; it should not be confused with proof that every Tejas variant or every IAF aircraft has an operationally cleared AAR capability.
Indian Navy’s AAR requirement
Naval fighter operations also depend on aerial refuelling. The wet-leased KC-135 is being used jointly by the IAF and Navy for training. With an envisaged fleet of 400+ aircraft in the next two decades, the Naval Air Arm also aims to induct integral manned or uncrewed AAR aircraft capable of both boom type, and hose and drogue type refueling capability. The AAR aircraft should be capable of refuelling fighters, UAVs, as well as, MR aircraft. The option for long endurance unmanned AAR aircraft would also be explored to enhance operational efficiency.
The Eight Technology Challenges India Must Master
Indigenous hose-and-drogue refueling pod
The immediate priority is a reliable indigenous aerial-refueling pod for the IAF’s probe-and-drogue architecture. The engineering task includes the pod structure, deployable hose, drum and rewind mechanism, hose-tension management, drogue/basket design, coupling interface, emergency jettison and safe stowage. The hose must deploy and recover repeatedly without excessive oscillation, damage, or unacceptable drag. The DRDO pod tender creates an opening for Indian development, but detailed technical requirements should be taken from the official RFP rather than inferred from the tender title.
Fuel-transfer and flow-control systems
A safe system must regulate fuel pressure and flow, measure the quantity transferred and isolate the system rapidly if a leak, pressure excursion or coupling failure occurs. Indigenous capability is needed in pumps, valves, seals, sensors, fuel quantity measurement, pressure regulation, filtration, shut-off logic and leak detection. These components must be qualified for aviation fuel, vibration, temperature extremes and repeated operational cycles.
Drogue aerodynamics and hose stability
The drogue operates in the disturbed airflow behind the tanker. Its stability is affected by tanker wake, speed, altitude, turbulence and receiver-aircraft position. India needs aerodynamic design and validation expertise in drogue geometry, hose oscillation, flutter, tension control and wake interaction. Wind-tunnel work, computational fluid dynamics, simulation and instrumented flight trials should be part of the development pathway.
Receiver-aircraft compatibility and flight-control integration
Every receiving aircraft needs a compatible probe, fuel plumbing, non-return and isolation valves, cockpit indications, procedures and structural substantiation. Integration also requires assessment of handling qualities, flight-control laws where applicable, loads during contact, electromagnetic compatibility, pilot visibility and emergency procedures. Tejas’ 2018 wet-contact trial is a useful national foundation, but integration remains aircraft-specific. Su-30MKI, Rafale, Tejas variants and future combat aircraft cannot be assumed compatible without platform-level engineering, trials and certification.
Sensors, avionics and assisted/automatic refueling
Future systems can improve safety and reduce pilot workload through day/infrared cameras, relative-position sensing, drogue tracking, laser or other range measurement, digital displays, data recording, proximity alerts and robust tanker-receiver communications. Automation is a longer-term objective: it requires precise sensing, low-latency and reliable data links, validated control logic, collision-avoidance safeguards and extensive flight-test evidence. India should first establish dependable assisted-refueling capability before pursuing full automation.
Flying-boom technology
The probe-and-drogue method is the IAF’s established approach. A flying boom is a different architecture: a rigid, telescopic fuel-transfer device controlled by a boom operator or assisted control system. It involves boom structure, telescoping and actuation mechanisms, load sensing, precise positioning, operator displays, flight-control assistance, and emergency disconnects. India should study and develop relevant expertise for future interoperability and platform options but should not imply that an indigenous operational flying-boom programme already exists. The tanker configuration selected for India must be confirmed from the final contract and technical specification. The precise refuelling configuration, fuel-transfer capacity, and ability to refuel multiple aircraft simultaneously must be assessed against the IAF’s requirements.
Ship Helicopter Operating Limitations (SHOL)
Naval aviation is primarily ship-centric. Hence, Dynamic Interphase and integration of helicopters with all ships forms a major share in the flight test role of IN. SHOL trials include day, night, NVG assisted, emergency envelope, armament role, hangarage/ traversing, VERTREP, and Helo In-Flight Refuelling (HIFR). This also could be undertaken on simulators with induction of advanced simulators. While India has existing simulation capabilities through DRDO’s ISSA and ARI’s ship-handling simulators at the Integrated Simulator Complex, Dhruv, Kochi, a dedicated indigenous SHOL prediction and dynamic-interface simulation system has not been publicly confirmed. International specialists such as QinetiQ (UK), Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR), and the University of Liverpool have developed advanced SHOL modelling and simulation technologies. This presents an opportunity for DRDO, HAL and Indian private-sector defence companies to collaborate in developing an indigenous SHOL simulator incorporating ship-motion modelling, airwake simulation, helicopter flight dynamics, NVG operations and predictive flight-test analysis, reducing dependence on physical trials while improving naval aviation safety and operational readiness.
One additional development is worth watching: the Indian Navy published a tender in October 2026 for an XR simulator for Chetak helicopter training of ab-initio pilots, with a November 2026 bid deadline. This is a helicopter training initiative, not evidence of a SHOL simulator procurement.
Safety, structural integrity and certification
AAR brings two aircraft into close proximity while transferring large quantities of fuel. The system must address structural fatigue, vibration, contact loads, hose or boom failure, lightning protection, fuel leakage, fire and explosion hazards, electrical bonding, emergency separation and redundant controls. Ground qualification, safety analysis, environmental testing, flight-test instrumentation and formal airworthiness certification are essential. A successful demonstration is only one milestone in a longer qualification and operational-clearance process.
Test infrastructure, repair and lifecycle support
India needs ground rigs for hose deployment and retraction, fuel-flow and pressure testing, endurance and environmental qualification, hardware-in-the-loop simulation, wind-tunnel access and instrumented tanker/receiver flight-test capability. Equally important are depot-level repair, spares, technical data, trained maintainers and local overhaul capacity. The historical CAG findings on IL-78 availability show why sustainment must be designed into the programme from the beginning, not treated as an afterthought.
Recommended division of effort across the Indian ecosystem
A phased roadmap for the IAF, Indian Navy and Indian industry
Near term (2026–2030): progress the replacement-tanker procurement through contract and delivery milestones; sustain the IL-78 fleet; complete the DRDO pod development and qualification pathway; identify Indian suppliers and establish repair capacity. Prioritise proven, safe probe-and-drogue capability.
Medium term (2030–2035): expand domestic manufacture of pods and fuel-system components; build repeatable tanker and receiver integration processes; strengthen test facilities, certification and lifecycle support; introduce sensor-assisted refueling where operationally justified.
Long term (2035 onwards): evaluate a broader indigenous tanker technology base, including greater design authority over MMTT conversion and mission systems; mature automated refueling; and develop flying-boom expertise if operational requirements and cost-benefit analysis justify it.
A fully indigenous tanker aircraft should be treated as a long-term industrial ambition, not an assumed near-term programme.
The significant development is the April 2026 agreement between Paras Avionics Private Limited (Paras Defence and Space Technologies Limited) and Northstar (Bandak Aviation Inc. DBA Northstar, USA) is a California-based aerospace company with over 50 years of experience designing, manufacturing, and supporting aerial (air-to-air) refueling systems and external fuel tanks. Northstar’s published product portfolio includes the KC-135 refueling boom assembly, as well as hose-and-drogue equipment. Paras has agreed to supply and support Northstar aerial-refueling products in India and develop local facilities and depot-level support capability over a 10-year period.
Strategic Conclusion
India’s air-to-air refuelling capability needs urgent modernisation. The IAF currently operates six Russian-origin IL-78MKI tankers, inducted in 2003–04, but reports indicate that only three to four are serviceable at a time. The proposed acquisition of six Boeing 767-based tanker aircraft, to be converted by Israel Aerospace Industries in partnership with HAL, is an important step towards addressing this shortfall. The programme received Acceptance of Necessity, with its reported cost estimated at approximately US$1 billion; however, final contract signing and delivery remain distinct milestones.
The Boeing 767–IAI–HAL pathway, if contracted and implemented, can address an urgent operational need and provide conversion and sustainment experience. DRDO’s 2026 refueling-pod tender offers a more direct route into indigenous subsystem development. Tejas’ successful 2018 wet-contact trial provides a foundation in receiver-aircraft integration. These are complementary strands, not interchangeable programmes.
For the Indian Navy, aerial refuelling is essential to extending the operational reach of carrier-based aviation. Its MiG-29K fighters have received limited refuelling support through the IAF, while buddy-refuelling capability offers an additional option for carrier operations. A dedicated shore-based naval tanker fleet has not been established as a requirement in the public domain.
The IAF must strengthen its tanker fleet, the Navy must sustain and expand its access to aerial refuelling support, and Indian industry must develop indigenous pods, fuel-transfer systems, avionics, sensors and testing infrastructure. The objective should be to move beyond dependence on imported tankers and components towards a sustainable domestic aerospace capability. Ultimately, the ability to refuel in flight will determine the reach, endurance and operational flexibility of India’s air power — both over land and across the Indian Ocean.
