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A model of the AMCA was displayed at the 2025 edition of the Aero India airshow.
India’s Defense Ministry is seeking to join one of the foreign government-industry consortia developing competing sixth-generation fighters, opening a parallel acquisition track to a more indigenous alternative, according to a government report tabled in Parliament on March 18.
The 152-page report on 2026 defense budget plans describes the two consortia as one involving the UK, Italy and Japan and the other consisting of France and Germany. The references appear to be the Global Combat Aircraft Program (GCAP) and the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), respectively.
Defense officials have told the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Defense that the air force will try to join one of the consortia “right away,” the budget report says.
Facing a hostile and modernizing Pakistani air force, India’s air force is under pressure to increase the capability of an aging fighter fleet. Joining GCAP or FCAS would be done “with a view to ensure that they do not lag behind in achieving the target for advanced aircraft,” the report adds.
The move would run in parallel to the Indian government’s ongoing investment in the homegrown Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), a twin-engine, fifth-generation fighter expected to enter service in 2035. But India’s track record for indigenous combat aircraft development is poor. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas fighter spent more than two decades in development, and air force officials have complained about the slow pace of deliveries.
India’s interest in joining a sixth-generation fighter consortium comes despite an existential crisis facing one of the two options. France and Germany are at an impasse over industry roles in the design of the fighter’s airframe and flight control systems. Recent Indian media reports have suggested that India could replace Germany in FCAS and partner with France, which already supplies the Rafale fighter to the Indian air force and navy.
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