India is likely to join a global consortium developing a sixth-generation fighter aircraft—the world’s most advanced—because the Indian Air Force (IAF) does not want to lag in deploying this capability to meet future air threats, said Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan.
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The IAF, the world’s fourth largest, has zeroed in on two global consortia—the UK, Italy and Japan/France, Germany, and Spain—hoping to join forces with one of them to develop the sixth-generation fighter aircraft, Chauhan told a Parliamentary panel that submitted a report in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
“Two consortia are working on the sixth-generation aircraft. One is a consortium of the UK, Italy, and Japan, and the other is a consortium of France and Germany. Both are developing (sixth-generation) aircraft. To ensure we don’t lag behind, we will try to partner with one of the consortia and start considering the sixth-generation fighter right now,” the CDS told the Parliamentary standing committee on defence.
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{{/usCountry}}The UK, Italy and Japan are part of the GCAP (Global Combat Air Programme), while France Germany and Spain have come together under the FCAS (Future Combat Air System) to develop a ‘system of systems’ that will operate across five domains—air, land, sea, cyber and space—with the sixth-generation fighter as its core platform.
The next-generation combat air capability will roll out incrementally and is expected to be deployed by 2040.
The panel has asked the defence ministry to accelerate “the planning process for the development and acquisition of sixth-generation aircraft which would eventually enhance India’s air domain capabilities in today’s highly air-centric modern warfare.”
The capability being developed under GCAP and FCAS will integrate complex platforms and technologies: next-level stealth aircraft, uncrewed systems, advanced weapons including directed energy weapons, superior avionics and radar systems, satellite communication, numerous intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, artificial intelligence, and supercomputing.
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The plan to participate in developing a sixth-generation fighter comes at a time when India is also working to develop a fifth-generation stealth fighter jet or the AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) programme.
Of the seven consortia of public and private sector firms that bid for the programme last year, three have met the mandatory criteria and progressed to the next stage of the evaluation process, which involves submitting cost bids for building five AMCA prototypes and one structural test specimen. These are Tata Advanced Systems Limited; Larsen & Toubro (L&T) with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL); and a Bharat Forge-led consortium.
The contract is expected to be awarded to the lowest bidder in the coming months.
Speeding up the AMCA programme is critical because China has already deployed the J-20 fifth-generation fighters, is rolling out the J-35 stealth fighters (which Pakistan is considering buying), and has tested two sixth-generation platforms designated J-36 and J-50. While fifth-generation fighters focus on stealth and sensor fusion, sixth-generation aircraft will form the core of a ‘system of systems’ with manned-unmanned teaming as cited above.
The first AMCA prototype is expected to make its maiden flight in 2029, and AMCA’s development is likely to be completed by 2034 before it enters production a year later. In 2024, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved the AMCA’s design and prototype development at a cost of around ₹15,000 crore. The IAF’s modernisation map envisages the deployment of around 120 stealth fighters (six squadrons) 2035 onwards, with the advanced planes forming an important element of future air combat.
The first two squadrons will use the Mk-1 version powered by American F-414 engines, while the rest will have the more advanced Mk-2 version equipped with a more powerful engine to be built in India through French collaboration.