Post Operation Sindoor, India and Pakistan are locked in a race to ‘upgrade’ their military arsenal. Notably, both are looking to acquire a fifth-generation fighter jet — defined as stealthy, with an ability to carry out long-range strikes and backed by technology like high-definition data links.
Both the nuclear-armed rivals have made their choices to acquire this technology. Pakistan, thanks to its ally China, is slightly ahead and could acquire an operational fifth-generation jet by the end of this year.
Last month, the two sides signed an “initial collaborative agreement” for acquisition of the fifth-generation Shenyang J-35 stealth fighter. The first inductions could happen in 2026 itself. Islamabad has also worked out a separate deal with Turkiye to jointly produce a 5th-Gen jet called the ‘Kaan’. Almost 200 of its engineers are being trained by Turkiye.
India is also taking two routes — one that entails ‘indigenous manufacturing’ and the second is ‘stop gap’, the option of getting the Sukhoi-57 from Russia, aimed at countering Pakistan’s immediate acquisition.
On June 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, reiterated the proposal to make the Sukhoi-57 under joint production with India in India.
Top Defence Ministry officials have confirmed that various options are on the table for having a ‘stop-gap’ arrangement for fifth-generation jets and this includes the Sukhoi-57.
In 2007, India had signed an agreement with Russia for the joint development of a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA). Both nations initially committed $6 billion for the project. India even paid $295 million during the design phase; however, in 2018, it withdrew citing concerns over cost, workshare and perceived capability gaps.
Pak surge post Sindoor
Strategic circles are rife with estimation that Pakistan could take delivery of an initial batch of Chinese-made J-35s by the year-end. The assessment is derived from a video aired by China’s state-run CCTV last month, showing the first fully operational ‘export’ version of the J-35. With Pakistan air force being the obvious destination, the estimations are not off the mark.
The Chinese fifth-generation Shenyang J-35, which Pakistan is expected to induct.
Post Sindoor, the J-35 was the first sop that China offered to Pakistan.
Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), a former fighter pilot of the Indian Air Force, says, “Undoubtedly, Pakistan’s acquisition of J-35 would alter the dynamics of the region.”
India has a much larger fleet of 4th-generation or 4.5-generation fighters like the Rafale and Sukhoi 30MKI, bought from France and Russia, respectively, but, for now, it lags behind Pakistan in the acquisition of stealth planes.
Pakistan is also looking at upgrades for the Chinese-origin JF-17 jets in its fleet. These upgrades will make the jet ‘4.5 generation’ capable, but not a 5th-Gen plane. Islamabad will see this as a learning curve, a ‘stepping stone’, in pursuit of fifth-generation fighter capabilities.
In May this year, the 20th Round of the ‘Pakistan-Turkiye High Level Military Dialogue Group’ met at Rawalpindi and sharing of defence technology was one of the points of discussion. Pakistan is the fifth largest global importer of weapons, says a report, titled ‘Trends in International Arms Transfers, 2025’, released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in March this year. China and Turkiye are its largest suppliers.
Indian efforts for new tech
Keeping pace with its western neighbour’s surge, India has made a beginning. The Ministry of Defence, last month, asked three shortlisted consortiums to submit their formal commercial and technical bids for manufacturing five prototypes of fifth-generation indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
The bidders invited are — Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), which is competing independently; a consortium led by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), state-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), and Dynamatic Technologies Ltd; and another consortium of Bharat Forge, PSU BEML, and Data Patterns.
The Rs 15,000-crore project involves the development of design and prototype of the aircraft. The winning partner will work with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to build five flying prototypes and one structural test aircraft.
The selection is to be based on technical capabilities and the successful bidder will also do validation for structural strength and avionics. Once a bidder is selected, the company will be asked to be ready with the plane in 30 months of getting a contract, and have it flying in 64 months.
The DRDO aims to complete the development cycle of the AMCA by 2034 so that the induction can start from the following year. Air Marshal Chopra says, “AMCA needs to be speeded up. A high-powered steering committee is desired and it should report directly to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).”
India’s two variants for AMCA
India is looking at having two variants of the AMCA with different engines — the Mark 1 is expected to be powered by General Electric (GE) F414 98 kilonewton (kN) engine and advanced Mark 2 may have a 110 kN engine, which is being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and French company Safran. In both cases, public sector HAL is a partner.
The aircraft will have the latest avionics and indigenous active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and can carry weapons internally and externally.
Sukhoi-57 that India may acquire from Russia to counter Pakistan’s acquisition of J-35.
Russian stop-gap choice
The AMCA development is not enough as it could take 10 years to be inducted, so a ‘stop-gap’ measure is being examined. One of the options is the Russian Sukhoi-57E to counter the Pakistani threat. The Russian Sukhoi-57 is the first choice as a stop-gap arrangement.
The US option of a fifth-generation jet, the F-35, is not being considered as India fears US restrictions on operating such an offensive platform, sources said.
Among the restrictions could include non-integration of Indian weapons on board. The existing IAF fleet of Sukhoi-30MKI jets has mated even the BrahMos and was used in Operation Sindoor. Without the integration, India would be forced to buy costly arsenal from western nations.
Also, the Sukhoi-57 would have a commonality of maintenance with the Sukhoi-30MKI — some 270 of these are in the Indian Air Force fleet. A Russian delegation from the Sukhoi Design Bureau last year assessed HAL’s key facilities — including the Nashik division (final assembly for Sukhoi-30MKI), Koraput (engine production), and Kasaragod (avionics) — and shared a report confirming HAL’s readiness for full-scale production, if India accepts Russia’s proposal.
HAL has prepared its own detailed analysis of investments needed in infrastructure, technology upgrades, R&D, human resources, and supply chain enhancements to enable local production if the MoD okays the Sukhoi-57.
Generation of planes
A fifth-generation aircraft is defined by its capabilities that allow the pilot to maintain decision superiority over an adversary. Onboard sensors and stealth technology make it tough for enemy radars to track a fifth-generation plane that is backed by millions of software codes.
It is designed to evade ground-based radars; opposing air forces have to rely on airborne radars mounted on fighters and early-warning aircraft.
The classification of a generational shift occurs when a technological innovation cannot be incorporated into an existing aircraft through upgrades and retrospective fit-outs. The first-generation subsonic jet fighters are from the mid-1940s to mid-1950s, and the second-generation jets are from the mid-1950s to early 1960s. Third-generation jets are from the early 1960s to 1970; fourth-generation jet fighters are from 1970 to the late 1980s; four-and-a-half generation jet fighters followed.
The fifth-generation jets arrived in 2005 when the US unveiled the F-22 Raptor.
