India gearing up for ambitious fifth-generation stealth fighter project

INTERNATIONAL DESK: India is now finally moving ahead with its long-pending project to develop a fifth-generation stealth fighter, in a step that also effectively torpedoes feverish speculation that New Delhi may be interested in the F-35A jets showcased by the US at Aero-India in Bengaluru in February.

The full-scale engineering development case for the indigenous twin-engine advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA), at a cost of around Rs 15,000 crore, will ‘soon’ be sent to the PM-led cabinet committee on security (CCS) for the final approval, sources told TOI on Thursday.

“Extensive inter-ministerial consultations on cost, design and level of indigenous content are virtually complete now. The DRDO case for the AMCA will soon be finalized for the CCS,” a source said.

The ambitious AMCA project will involve development of five prototypes, one structural test specimen, extensive flight testing and certification for the eventual 25-tonne swing-role fighter.

As per the projected timelines, the first AMCA prototype will roll out four years after the CCS sanction, with the production to begin another six years after that. In effect, the IAF will begin inducting the AMCA from only around 2035 onwards.

The only operational 5th generation jets in the world currently are the American F/A-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning-II Joint Strike Fighters, with the Chinese Chengdu J-20 and Russian Sukhoi-57 also somewhat there. “The US bringing two F-35s for the Aero-India was just strategic posturing and a sales pitch. We are pursuing our own AMCA programme,” the source said.

The CCS in August last year had cleared the development of the indigenous Tejas Mark-2 fighter at an overall cost of over Rs 9,000 crore, which TOI had then reported would be followed by the AMCA project.

The 36 Rafales inducted by IAF under the Rs 59,000 crore deal inked with France in September 2016 and the planned Tejas Mark-2 are 4.5 generation fighters. The AMCA, in turn, will be a truly 5th generation fighter with advanced stealth features and the capability to super-cruise as well as data fusion and multi-sensor integration with AESA (active electronically scanned array) radars.

The IAF currently plans seven squadrons (126 jets) of the AMCA. With India failing to develop its own jet engine, the first two AMCA squadrons will be powered by the American GE-414 engines in the 98 Kilonewton thrust class, like the Tejas Mark-2 jets. The next five squadrons are planned to be equipped with a more powerful 110 Kilonewton engine to be developed with foreign collaboration.

The IAF is currently grappling with just 31 fighter squadrons when at least 42 are required to tackle China and Pakistan. The IAF induction plan includes 83 Tejas Mark-1A, 108 Tejas Mark-2, 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (to be manufactured in India with foreign collaboration) and finally 126 AMCA.

But the going has been excruciatingly slow. The 73 Tejas Mark-1A fighters (with GE-404 engines) and 10 trainers have to be delivered by Hindustan Aeronautics in the February 2024-February 2028 timeframe as per the Rs 46,898 crore contract inked in February 2021.

“But the first Tejas Mark-1A will probably come towards end-2024. First, every small equipment change requires extensive flight testing and certification. Moreover, HAL has to majorly upgrade its annual production capability. Tejas Mark-2, of course, is still in the design and development phase,” another source said. (TOI)