In the context of a presentation aimed at the Standing Committee on Defence of Parliament, India’s Ministry of Defence has suggested that it is evaluating the possibility of joining one of the European sixth-generation fighter programs, with the only two existing options at present being the FCAS and GCAP programs. According to the official documentation, this decision would be made in order to address the urgent need to modernize the country’s Air Force combat capabilities, highlighting the assessment that in modern combat, air dominance is extremely decisive.
Quoting one of the excerpts of the document that refer to the issue: “The Committee has been informed that two consortia are working on sixth-generation aircraft. One is a consortium of the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan (Ed. note: the GCAP program), and the other is a consortium of France, Spain and Germany (Ed. note: the FCAS program), and both are developing aircraft. The Committee has also been informed that the Air Force will attempt to join forces with one of the consortia and will begin to consider a sixth-generation fighter immediately in order to ensure that it does not fall behind in achieving the goal of advanced aircraft.”
It is worth mentioning in this regard that, at least for the moment, only the GCAP program shows signs of progressing according to plan. This is so even though accusations have been made by Italy toward the United Kingdom regarding not sharing key technologies for the development of the new sixth-generation fighter, without specifying at the time which components in particular were involved. According to the current timeline, the platform is expected to enter service by the middle of the next decade, which at first glance appears to be a realistic target and would leave room for a possible entry of India into the program.
The question in this case lies rather in whether New Delhi would actually be accepted to join the program, which would not necessarily be guaranteed. It is worth recalling in this line that Saudi Arabia’s candidacy had also been evaluated by the consortium partners with the backing of Italy itself, although it ultimately did not materialize. In recent dates, the current CEO of Leonardo, Roberto Cingolani, stated that he is “more than open” to such a possibility and that, in view of the great effort required by the project, “having more partners would be perfect.”
In the case of the other alternative, the FCAS program, the outlook would be less encouraging considering the well-known disputes between the German side and its French counterpart due to accusations pointing to Dassault as an actor seeking to take the largest share of development; something that is denied by the company. The issue is such that on several occasions the possibility has been floated that Berlin might leave the program and that Paris would have to carry the project on its own, something that brings to mind the development of the Rafale fighter as a precedent.
For India, if that were to happen, it could represent a potential entry point, taking advantage of its close ties with the French industry to give new momentum to the so far restrained FCAS. From France, it would also be feasible to assume that New Delhi would not seek equal participation in the project, which would at least initially resolve the aforementioned problems. In addition, both countries already have a prior basis in terms of technology transfer, which could facilitate the integration of each side’s industrial capabilities.
And the fifth generation?
Alongside this development, it is worth mentioning that India has also been working for years on acquiring a fifth-generation aircraft that would allow it to match its capabilities with those of neighboring China and other powers around the globe. In detail, it should be noted that the country is working on the development of its indigenous fighter known as AMCA, while also analyzing the possibility of adding U.S.-origin F-35 fighters and Russian-origin Su-57 aircraft.
Within the same document cited above, it is stated that: “The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is being developed, discussions on its design and manufacturing are currently underway.” However, although the program already received the green light from the Indian government to move forward with the construction of a prototype in May 2025, it is a development that would still be in early stages and that has not shown major signs of progress in recent months. Among the few developments that can be highlighted in this regard is the selection of the company Safran to carry out the development of the future engines that will equip the platform, which should be capable of generating between 110 and 120 kN.
If we focus on the other two platforms, Indian analysts seem to agree that the Su-57 would be the one with the greatest chances of securing a place in the Indian Air Force, especially thanks to the willingness to involve local industry with production proposals in line with the “Made in India” policy; a key aspect for the acquisitions the country has made in recent years. Moreover, it should be highlighted that the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) has already stated that it would be willing to support the development of the aforementioned AMCA fighter in the event that New Delhi selects that model, also taking advantage of facilities that were already used for the manufacture of the Su-30MKI.
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
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