Will India's sixth-generation fighter jet plans with France make fifth-gen AMCA irrelevant? Expert explains

A few days ago, a parliamentary panel revealed that the defence ministry has "initiated efforts" to co-join the sixth-generation fighter aircraft development programme, Future Combat Air System (FCAS), led by France. The panel said the Indian Air Force will consider a sixth-generation fighter aircraft right away to ensure that they "do not lag" in achieving the target for advanced aircraft. India's decision to join the FCAS programme comes eight years after India ended a similar programme with Russia—the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project.

Air Commodore Gaurav Mani Tripathi (Retd), a former fighter pilot who worked with the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and who is currently the director of (Ops and Strategy) at Veda Aeronautics, pointed out that joining such a programme can be highly beneficial even when genuine technology transfer is difficult. 

In an interview with The New Indian Express, he also explained that India's pursuit of a sixth-generation fighter aircraft does not make its fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) irrelevant, as the two jets can form part of an increasingly networked combat system involving both manned and unmanned platforms.

He observed that a fifth-generation fighter is designed to be extremely difficult to detect and highly networked. Sixth-generation fighters take these capabilities further, functioning as nodes within a wider "system of systems" in which aircraft and other platforms share information seamlessly.

At the heart of the sixth-generation concept is manned-unmanned teaming. As air defence systems become increasingly capable, sending an expensive manned aircraft directly into a heavily defended battlespace may not be a good option. Instead, cheaper low-observable uncrewed aircraft can be sent ahead to shape the battlespace.

He noted that these unmanned platforms can take the first engagement and help degrade threats, and clear the way for more expensive manned aircraft behind them to deliver the heavier payloads. Sixth-generation fighters are therefore designed from the outset with the ability to control, task and retask uncrewed platforms operating ahead of them.

However, this evolution does not necessarily diminish the relevance of the AMCA, the expert pointed out. The uncrewed platforms designed to operate alongside manned fighters are known as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), and India already has the CATS Warrior programme, which needs to be encouraged to its fullest potential, he said,

Fifth-generation fighters are also being modified for teaming with CCAs, and the AMCA could similarly be adapted for such operations, he said.

Ultimately, the objective remains to get the weapon onto the target, with the manned fighter continuing to serve as the heavier weapon-carrying platform. Operation Sindoor demonstrated the importance of this role, with air-launched missiles striking bases and ground facilities to deliver the intended effect, he said.

Therefore, rather than making the AMCA obsolete, the emergence of sixth-generation fighters and collaborative unmanned aircraft could see the fifth-generation fighter operating as part of a broader and more networked combat ecosystem, he pointed out.