AMCA: India scrambles as China builds up 200-strong stealth jet fleet

India becomes a late entrant in fifth-generation stealth fighter race, lagging behind the likes of South Korea and Turkey

India has formally joined the race to develop a fifth-generation stealth combat aircraft, but it will need to catch up to the likes of Turkey and South Korea, which have a significant lead, even as the US, China, and Russia already operate and bolster their stealth jet fleets.  

The latest development

The Cabinet Committee on Security on March 7 cleared the project to design and develop the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which will be a fifth-generation, medium weight stealth fighter jet. It is being developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), under a project worth around Rs 15,000 crore. DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will develop the stealth jet and the associated technology in partnership with various private and public sector agencies. Citing government sources, ANI has reported that about five prototypes will be built in around five years. The prototypes will be manufactured by industry, including public sector unit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

 

What is a fifth-gen fighter jet? 

A fifth-generation fighter jet has four main attributes. First, it is stealthy. That means it is near-invisible to enemy radars, which is a function of the jet's radar cross section. Second, it can 'supercruise', or fly faster than the speed of sound without using the fuel-guzzling afterburners on its engines. Third, it has advanced avionics and sensors with network centric operations. Increasingly, artificial intelligence is also being used in this regard to enhance pilot-aircraft interface. This allows a single pilot to both fly the aircraft and engage in combat. Last but not least, it should be able to outrange its adversaries by detecting and engaging targets from long distances, which is achieved by employing active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars.  

Model of India's planned fifth-generation stealth fighter jet Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Image credit: Shutterstock

To achieve stealth, these aircraft are specifically shaped to scatter radar waves, instead of reflecting them back. After that, special materials and paints, called radar absorbing structures and materials, are used to further reduce radar reflectivity. When operating in stealth mode, these fighters have to conceal their weapons in an internal bay and can only count on the fuel carried in tanks located within their body. Weapons or fuel tanks carried externally, like conventional aircraft do under their wings, reflect radar waves and compromise stealth.  

The long road ahead

However, the project clearance is just the start of a long and complex technological journey. According to ANI, the AMCA's induction in an operational role is expected to start only after 2030. While the first two squadrons are planned to be powered by the GE-414 engines made by American engine maker GE Aerospace, discussions are still on to co-develop more powerful engines for the remaining squadrons. India is likely to induct over 200 of these fifth-generation fighters.

Better late than never

The AMCA has seen significant delays. In December of 2019, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the agency that oversees the Tejas and AMCA programmes, had told Business Standard that after eight years of design work, the stealth shaping of the AMCA had been completed. At the time, the AMCA's first flight was targeted for 2024-25. Five prototypes were to be built for a flight-testing programme that would have taken about four years. Series manufacturing of the AMCA was planned to start by 2028-29. However, even in March of 2022, the latest update was that the process for obtaining the Cabinet Committee on Security's approval for the AMCA's design and prototype development had only been initiated.

Why India needs to engage the afterburner on AMCA

In February of 2023, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) had said that China was outpacing the US in the production of stealth aircraft. In fact, China's inventory of the J-20A Mighty Dragon, China's first fifth-generation fighter, was slated to overtake that of the US Air Force's F-22 Raptor that same year. The F-22 was the first-ever fifth-generation fighter to enter service. According to IISS, by February last year, China already had over 150 J-20A fighters.

China's first fifth-generation fighter J-20A Mighty Dragon. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
 

However, the F-22 hasn't been in production for some time now, and the US has shifted its attention to the F-35 Lightning II family of stealth fighters, which are meant to be more affordable. According to the US Government Accountability Office, as of September last year, the US was fielding about 450 F-35 aircraft. At present, there are about 180 operational F-22 airframes with the US Air Force. 

American fifth-generation fighter F-22 Raptor. Image credit: Lockheed Martin

 

   

Given the tense state of India-China ties, an even more worrisome development is that by the end of 2023, aviation magazine Scramble reported that the 200th J-20A aircraft had already been built, and total production could be getting close to 250. This is an indication that China is ramping up production levels beyond previous estimates. 

Meanwhile, a January 2023 assessment from the UK Ministry of Defense said that Russia had "almost certainly used" its Su-57 Felon fifth-generation fighter in its operations against Ukraine.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 9 January 2023

Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/MFEwqMMnI3

???????? #StandWithUkraine ???????? pic.twitter.com/mdjvswJrWJ

— Ministry of Defence ???????? (@DefenceHQ) January 9, 2023

Incidentally, in April of 2018, India pulled out of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft programme, or FGFA, which was a joint effort with Russia that was supposed to lead to an India-specific variant of the Russian Su-57 stealth fighter.

Russia's Su-57 Felon fifth-generation fighter. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

 

 

Even South Korea and Turkey have taken a lead in the race for fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

In February this year, Turkey's next-generation fighter, known as the TF KAAN, took off for its first flight. Turkish Aerospace Industries claims that KAAN is a fifth-generation multirole fighter aircraft. 

KAAN successfully completed its first flight. May it be good for our country!????????✈️ https://t.co/keD63Vohoa

— Turkish Aerospace (@TUSAS_EN) February 21, 2024

Of concern to India would be the fact that in August last year, the Turkish government had announced that Pakistan could officially join the Turkish Aerospace KAAN aircraft programme. 

Turkey's next-generation fighter TF KAAN. Image credit: Turkish Aerospace Industries
 

 

In July of 2022, the prototype of South Korea's KF-21 Boramae next-generation fighter jet conducted its first flight. Indonesia is a 20 per cent partner in the Boramae programme. The KF-21 Boramae is stealthier than previous fourth-generation jets. While it does not carry weapons in an internal bay like other fifth-generation stealth platforms, there is an option for internal bays to be introduced at a later date. 

(With agency inputs)