Why India is eyeing France’s next-generation combat aircraft tech amid jet shortage

India is looking to join France’s sixth-generation fighter programme in a long-term bid to secure a role in the next era of air warfare, from advanced aircraft technology to the industrial work of designing and building future combat systems. But analysts said the move, while potentially a major step in India’s defence partnership with France, would do little to ease the country’s immediate shortage of combat jets. The defence ministry told Indian lawmakers last week that it had “initiated efforts” to join the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a French-led programme aimed at developing the next generation of combat aircraft and connected air warfare systems. Sixth-generation systems are expected to pair piloted fighter jets with drones, sensors and data networks, allowing aircraft to share information and coordinate strikes across the battlefield. Antoine Levesques, senior fellow for South and Central Asian defence at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said FCAS was a logical “next step and step-change” for France-India strategic cooperation, but not a fix for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) current shortage. “This would not be about plugging India’s current aircraft shortages,” Levesques said, but about signalling “a new, higher ceiling of trust and mutual confidence” between India and France. India currently operates only 29 fighter squadrons against an authorised strength of 42, leaving the IAF nearly one-third short of the strength deemed necessary for a potential two-front conflict with China and Pakistan. China has been seen testing two next-generation fighter prototypes, unofficially known as the Chengdu J-36 and Shenyang J-50, but has not publicly confirmed their designations or capabilities. FCAS was initially conceived by France, Germany and Spain as a next-generation combat system, but disputes between Paris and Berlin over workshare, leadership and intellectual property led France and Germany to abandon their joint fighter project. France is now expected to look for a new path for the fighter with Dassault, while Germany and Spain consider alternatives. That uncertainty could create an opening for India, but Levesques said any arrangement would be difficult because the programme still required “funding and agreed workshares” with any new partner. India could bring “market, talent, manufacturing” to the programme, he said, but the first step was for both sides to acknowledge that talks were under way. India is already developing its indigenous fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), while exploring FCAS as a possible route into technologies that could define the next stage of air combat. Atul Kumar, a fellow at the Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation’s strategic studies programme, said India’s interest in FCAS was not an attempt to solve the IAF’s immediate fighter shortage, as the aircraft would become operational only in the 2040s. “Today, the IAF faces two crucial challenges: rebuilding fighter numbers in the near term while preparing for the technological transition from fourth- and fifth-generation to sixth-generation combat aviation,” Kumar said. Joining FCAS could help ensure India had a credible sixth-generation option and was not left behind in future combat aviation technologies, he said. Retired IAF Air Marshal Ravi Gopal Krishana Kapoor said FCAS could become operational around 2040, when the AMCA might also enter IAF service, requiring the force to absorb fifth- and sixth-generation fighters at roughly the same time. “In this time frame, this will not be able to overcome the immediate shortages in fighter strength,” Kapoor said, though it could put the IAF on a path towards sixth-generation capability. Kapoor said another major challenge would be integrating crewed fighters with unmanned systems, as France and India had their own programmes. Software, artificial intelligence, machine learning, quantum technologies, cloud systems, workshare and intellectual property would all have to be discussed, he said. France would be keen to bring India into an expensive project and leverage the long-standing strategic partnership between the two countries, Kapoor said. “These are early days where India is exploring the possibility of joining the group to become a stakeholder in the design, development and production of the next generation aircraft,” he said. India’s previous experience with Russia’s fifth-generation fighter aircraft programme would also shape any talks, Kapoor said. “The lessons learned from FGFA would surely be a part of discussions as the participating nations go forward.” India withdrew from the Russian programme in 2018 over workshare issues and concerns about the aircraft’s ability to meet fifth-generation standards. Why FCAS over GCAP The defence ministry had earlier told lawmakers that the IAF was exploring two sixth-generation options, including the British-Italian-Japanese Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), which is developing a next-generation combat aircraft known as Tempest. The parliamentary defence panel has asked the ministry to submit a detailed status report on the road map and tentative timeline for acquiring sixth-generation aircraft. Kumar said FCAS appeared more attractive than the multilateral GCAP because France’s technological autonomy reduced India’s exposure to Anglo-American arms export controls. India’s use of French combat aircraft since independence had created “institutional familiarity, technical expertise, infrastructure and established industrial relationships”, he said. Kumar said an FCAS partnership could build on that relationship and help India move from importing fighters to co-developing future generations of combat-aircraft technology. Kapoor pointed to India’s Rafale fleet expansion and discussions with France on fighter-engine cooperation as “deciding factors” in favour of FCAS, though he said GCAP appeared steadier at this stage. France had “strategic and technological autonomy” and was “a reliable partner in the Indian aerospace sector”, Kapoor said. That could strengthen India’s confidence in FCAS and increase its leverage in integrating its own aerospace industry into the programme’s design, development and supply chain, he added.

Why India is eyeing France’s next-generation combat aircraft tech amid jet shortage

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The move could boost strategic cooperation with France and ensure India has a credible sixth-generation fighter jet option, analysts say

The move could boost strategic cooperation with France and ensure India has a credible sixth-generation fighter jet option, analysts say