NEW DELHI — With the race for sixth-generation combat aircraft gathering pace, India has opened talks with France on participating in its Future Combat Air System (FCAS) as it seeks a role in technologies that could shape air combat in the future.
India’s Defense Ministry told parliament this month it had “initiated efforts in a concerted manner to co-join” the effort.
The ministry stated earlier this year that India would try to join one of the two consortia working on a new generation fighter aircraft – at that time one involved France, Germany and Spain. The second includes the UK, Italy and Japan.
In June, however, France and Germany abandoned their joint effort to develop the landmark combat fighter at the heart of the program, opening the door for Paris to collaborate with a new partner.
India is exploring a potential partnership with France at a time when New Delhi lags behind in key fighter jet technologies, particularly engine development, and is also trying to beef up the fleet strength of its air force.
At the moment, India’s most advanced fighter jets are its 4.5-generation French Rafales.
The country is also pursuing a domestic project to develop a multirole fifth-generation fighter, with a prototype flight targeted for later this decade.
However sixth-generation fighters are expected to incorporate technologies that go beyond the stealth and advanced radar capabilities of fifth-generation aircraft. The futuristic jets center on a core fighter jet supported by drones and powered by what has been described as a “combat cloud.”
India’s objective in exploring a partnership with France, analysts say, is to gain access to advanced capabilities needed to develop the next generation of combat aircraft.
“India still has to transition to fifth-generation technologies so it would be good to make a parallel start on a sixth generation program to bridge the serious gap we face. That is why it is a good idea to get in with a grouping or a consortia working on the next generation fighter,” retired Air Marshal Anil Chopra told Defense News. “And some of the sixth-generation technologies that we may acquire might also be helpful as we develop our fifth generation program.”
In a report presented in Parliament on Aug. 9, a parliamentary committee which scrutinizes defense policies recommended that the defense ministry “step forward the planning process” for the development and acquisition of sixth-generation (6G) aircraft to enhance India’s air domain capabilities.
Analysts say China’s rapid air modernization is a major strategic consideration for India as it initiates efforts to join a development program for a next-generation jet.
“It has been a perpetual problem in Indian defense policy that India tends to lag almost one or two cycles behind what others are doing. But that space is no longer available given how rapidly air power is evolving and how quickly China is developing its capabilities,” according to Harsh Pant, the vice president of studies at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.
Analysts say discussions with France are likely to focus on issues such as a role in industrial participation, design and development, and access to intellectual property.
“At the moment India is engaged in exploratory discussions with France. We will want industrial workshare, but engine and radar technologies will have to come from French companies. So talks will center on what technology will be offered to India. France seems to be more open to sharing technology,” said Air Marshal Chopra.
India has a longstanding defense relationship with France, particularly in the aerospace sector. Besides the Rafales already deployed by the Indian Air Force, the two countries are presently engaged in negotiations for 114 more Rafale fighters for New Delhi, whose purchase India has approved.
“India needs a trusted partner as it tries to secure a place in the next generation technology cycle before it becomes too difficult or too expensive to catch up, and France is a good fit. It has been willing to engage in defense cooperation with New Delhi without the same political lens or considerations that some other suppliers have,” said Pant.
Dassault Aviation CEO Eric Trappier has repeatedly said that France has the know-how and the technology to independently develop a next-generation fighter jet.
The hiccup is that France’s public finances are under significant strain, with the country having one of the European Union’s highest debt burdens and largest budget deficits, complicating the funding of a future fighter project that may cost tens of billions of euros.
France is currently the only country in Western Europe with a fully sovereign, end-to-end modern fighter ecosystem, centered around the domestically developed Rafale. The fighter is built by Dassault Aviation, with avionics and radar supplied by Thales, an after-burning turbofan engine developed by Safran, and a range of missiles supplied by MBDA.
Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris contributed to this report.