{"id":37945,"date":"2025-02-24T18:58:22","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T13:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=37945"},"modified":"2025-03-20T17:52:36","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T12:22:36","slug":"india-dilemma-over-fighter-jets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/24-02-2025\/india-dilemma-over-fighter-jets","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s dilemma Over Fighter Jets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus :GS 3\/Defence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In News<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Both the F-35 and SU-57 gained attention at Aero India 2025 in Bengaluru, with the SU-57 being the showstopper for its maneuvers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s evolving fighter jet landscape<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Indian Air Force (IAF) has a sanctioned strength of 42.5 fighter squadrons but currently operates 31 squadrons, many with aging aircraft.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India is facing a two-front challenge with China and Pakistan.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To address this, India is exploring advanced jets like the U.S. F-35 and Russian Su-57.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Do you know ?<\/strong><br>&#8211; Countries like China, Russia, and the U.S. have already <strong>inducted fifth-generation jets<\/strong>, with China developing <strong>advanced sixth-gen jets.<\/strong><br>&#8211; Pakistan is looking to acquire J-35 fifth-generation jets from China.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Partnerships&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>U.S. President Donald Trump<\/strong> mentioned the U.S. might provide F-35 stealth fighters to India in the future.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The F-35 <\/strong>is a single-seat, single-engine strike fighter with three variant<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The F-35 costs around $100 million per aircraft, with development and maintenance costs exceeding $2 trillion through 2088.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>India and Russia<\/strong> initially planned to co-develop the FGFA (SU-57), but due to high costs and limited technology transfer, India pulled out.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Swedish <\/strong>company Saab has shown interest in participating in the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) programme, where the IAF aims to procure 114 jets to strengthen its depleting fleet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>New Approach&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India&#8217;s fleet, historically reliant on Russian military hardware, began diversifying in the early 2000s.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India now plans to focus on its <strong>indigenous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/28-02-2022\/advanced-medium-combat-aircraft-amca\">Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)<\/a>.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>By 2040, the IAF plans to have 220 LCA-Mk1s, 120 LCA-Mk2s, and the initial batch of AMCA fighters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India aims to acquire 500+ fighter jets, mainly focusing on LCA variants and the AMCA.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The AMCA prototype is expected by 2026-2027, with induction by 2034.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>LCA-Mk1A deliveries were delayed, and LCA-Mk2 is expected to fly by 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Need&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/21-04-2023\/indias-fighter-jet-conundrum\"><strong>India&#8217;s fighter jet<\/strong><\/a> landscape is undergoing significant transformation as the country seeks to modernize its air force and enhance its defense capabilities.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This evolution is driven by the need to address current challenges and prepare for future threats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concerns&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India still relies on U.S. and French-made engines for its fighters and helicopters, leading to dependency on foreign suppliers for critical systems.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>despite its benefits, has created dependency issues.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Adding advanced fighters like the F-35 will come with challenges related to operational flexibility, maintenance, and impact on indigenous manufacturing efforts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Balancing relationships with defense suppliers like the U.S. and Russia while maintaining strategic autonomy is complex.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion and Way Forward&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India&#8217;s evolving fighter jet landscape reflects its commitment to strengthening national security and achieving self-reliance in defense.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>By addressing current challenges and strategically planning for the future, India can build a formidable air force capable of meeting emerging threats.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: TH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both the F-35 and SU-57 gained attention at Aero India 2025 in Bengaluru, with the SU-57 being the showstopper for its maneuvers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37945"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39461,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37945\/revisions\/39461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}