India’s fifth-generation stealth fighter sets to lead Pakistan as China prepares for the sixth-generation aircraft
The committee is led by Defense Minister Rajesh Kumar Singh and by IAF Deputy Chief Aviation Marshal SP Dharkar, Secretary (produced by Ministry of Defense) Sanjeev Kumar, and Senior Officials (ADA) from DRDO and Aviation Development Agency (ADA).
The move comes as Pakistan aims to obtain at least 40 J-35A fifth-generation stealth jets from China, which has shown the prototype of its sixth-generation aircraft.
Meanwhile, China is stationed along the fifth-generation Chengdu J-20 jets at the Indian border (such as Hotan and Shigatse).
In view of this, in addition to the delay in the production of the fourth generation of Tejas jets (HAL), a source told TOI that the committee’s main goal is “to design how to restore AMCA from the drawing board to the air by narrowing the timeline and to improve good production-oriented production-oriented private sector participation, including good production-oriented production companies.”
The committee will also evaluate plans to develop an Indigenous 110 kilonewton thrust-class engine to power the 25-ton AMCA through foreign cooperation in engine technology. This committee was formed after a previous defence secretary-led group laid out a detailed roadmap for addressing the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) operational gaps in a time-bound manner, which was submitted to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on March 3.In March 2024, the cabinet committee on security, led by the PM Modi, approved the full-scale engineering development of five AMCA prototypes, with an initial budget of over Rs 15,000 crore.
While AMCA promises state-of-the-art features including stealth features such as advanced sensor fusion, internal weapons bays and “serpentine power”, it is expected to be ready for production in 2035 only in 2035.
Another source told TOI: “The challenge of compressing the timeline will be a challenge, but due to the inadequate technology of the IAF, major efforts must be made.”
In addition, at least eight squadrons are expected to be retired in the next decade.
Meanwhile, the IAF plans to replace some shortages by attracting 180 Tejas Mark-1a fighters (worth around Rs 1.2 lakh) and 108 capable Tejas Mark-2 Jets. In addition, a long-term time-consuming project is underway to produce the 114 4.5-generation multi-function fighter jet (MRFA) through foreign collaboration.
