French strength for Indian stealth; India's first fifth-gen fighter; approval for Rs 61,000 crore project with Safran

NEW DELHI: India's fifth-generation stealth aircraft will be developed in collaboration with French company Safran. The Ministry of Defence has approved the Rs 61,000 crore project. The agreement includes technology transfer as well. The manufacturing will be done by Make in India.

The aim is to make the Advanced Medium Compact Aircraft (AMCA) a part of the Indian Air Force by 2035. It requires a 120 kilonewton thrust engine. This is the same power as the US F-35 and Russia's Su-57. France has also agreed to provide a 120 kN engine for the Tejas Mark 2. The engine used in the Tejas-1 and Mark 2 is from General Electric (GE) of the United States. The Mark 2 is a 4.5 generation fighter. UK company Rolls-Royce was also under consideration. However, they were not ready for technology transfer. They also did not guarantee compliance with the schedule.

Kaveri will be delayed

• India is developing the Kaveri fighter jet engine indigenously
• The Gas Turbine Research Establishment under DRDO is responsible for it
• An agreement was reached with Safran, as the expected speed was not achieved
• It has been decided to use the Kaveri engine first for unmanned aircraft

250 stealth in 10 years

India's goal is to have 250 state-of-the-art fighters by 2035. It is reported that China will provide J-35 fifth-generation aircraft to Pakistan.