The 5th -generation fighter aircraft has been felt for a long time to strengthen India’s air power. But the indigenous AMCA program is not ready yet, and the picture is not clear about foreign options-F-35 of America and SU-57 of Russia. In such a situation, everyone’s eyes are on India’s next strategy.
Amca still years away
India’s indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is currently in the early stages of development. The Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) says that its prototype will not come before 2027-28 and its operation will not be started before 2036. Due to this delay, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is facing the lack of current squadron.
F-35: No formal proposal has been made yet
There has been a lot of discussion about the American F-35 fighter aircraft, but the Government of India or defense experts have not yet taken any clear stand. Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said in Parliament that “there has been no formal talks about F-35 yet.” He referred to a meeting between Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump in February 2025, in which the US spoke of reconsideration of the sale policy of aircraft like F-35 to India, but it was limited to policy review only.
Why is F-35 not an easy option?
India already has fighter aircraft like SU-30mki, Rafael, Tejas, Mirage 2000 and Jaguar. A senior IAF pilot said, ‘Taking any aircraft is not just a matter of flying, but it is to see if it matches the current system. The F-35 is fully associated with the American system, which can make it difficult to reconcile with India’s diverse defense structure.
Expert Dinakar Pari says that F-35 is state-of-the-art, but this is not the best option for India. India does not have an American fighter ecosystem and adopting it will be a very long process. He also said that if the US is not fully connected to F-35 with India’s Russian, French and Israeli system, then this aircraft will not be able to work with its full capacity.
SU-57: There is an option, but the problem is also a lot
Russia’s SU-57 is considered a practical option for India as India already uses Russian aircraft. But there are many challenges associated with this option:
- Threat of US sanctions and political pressure
- Delay in delivery
- Technical issues
- payment issues
- Strategic harmony
However, there are benefits such as technical transfer with SU-57 and better harmony with the current Russian system.
IAF shortage of fighter aircraft
Currently IAF has only 30-31 squadrons, while the need is 42.5 squadron. Indigenous options like LCA MK1A and MK2 were expected to meet this deficiency, but their delivery is also delayed. In such a situation, India has the option to buy 4th Generation Plus (4Gen+) aircraft, so that the lack of AMCA can be met.
Expert advice: 4Gen+ and LCA are more important than FGFAS
Dinakar Pari said that ‘the real problem of IAF is not the 5th, but the number of 4th generation fighters. What is needed right now is to speed up LCA production and pursue programs like MRFA (Medium Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft). Opponents like China and Pakistan are rapidly increasing the fleet of their fighter aircraft, which has made it even more important to fill this gap for India.