(Representative image)
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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has initiated “concerted” efforts to join the French-led Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a 6th-generation fighter aircraft development programme, at a time when Germany has parted ways with the ambitious initiative over work allocation, divergent military requirements and intellectual property rights differences.

The Standing Committee on Defence in its 25th report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday, recommended the MoD to sketch strategic roadmap and “step forward the planning process” for the development and acquisition of sixth-generation (6G) aircraft to enhance India’s air domain capabilities in today’s highly air-centric warfare.

The Committee has been informed that two consortia are working on the sixth-generation aircraft. One is a consortium of the UK, Italy, and Japan and the another is a consortium of France and Germany and both are developing aircraft, the report said.

The report is titled “Action Taken by the Government on the Observations/Recommendations contained in the Twentieth Report of Standing Committee on Defence (18th Lok Sabha) on Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Defence for the year 2026-27 on ‘Army, Air Force, Navy, Joint Staff, Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme and Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services (Demand Nos. 20 and 21)’.”

During the standing committee proceedings, the MoD told the members that it has “initiated efforts in a concerted manner to co-join the sixth-generation fighter aircraft development programme viz., Future Combat Air System (FCAS) spearheaded by the French government.”

India does not want to lag behind in the race to develop 6th generation fighter aircraft, as it did in the development of fifth generation fighter aircraft, which the DRDO has indigenously designed and developed, and is now in the process of finding a consortium of production partner for Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The panel was apprised that the Indian Air Force will try to join forces with one of the consortia to consider the sixth-generation fighter aircraft right away to ensure that they “do not lag” in achieving the target for advanced aircraft.

The FCAS was established as a major joint initiative intended to build a 6th-generation system of systems, centered around a main fighter aircraft known as the New Generation Fighter (NGF) alongside autonomous remote carrier drones and a cloud computing network. After Germany’s walkout from the programme in June 2026 due to strong differences, France continued to spearhead its 6th-generation vision independently and through alternative partnerships, such as discussions with India.

Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom came together to launch Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) in December 2022. The GCAP merged the UK-Italian tempest project with Japan’s Mitsubishi F-X program into a single unified tri-national initiative. This is to develop a stealthy, multi-role 6th-generation fighter jet intended to enter operational service by around 2035 to replace the Eurofighter Typhoon in Italy and the UK, and the Mitsubishi F-2 in Japan.

The committee said it understands that a technical upgrade of aircraft is “top priority” for enhancing the air force’s combat capability.

The parliamentary panel has sought a status report on the progress made in 6th generation as well as 5th generation fighter aircraft. “..Any roadmap prepared along with tentative timeline for acquisition of such (6th generation) aircraft may be given at the time of submitting action taken statement for the perusal of the Committee,” the report suggested.

Similarly, the members also sought a “status report on development and making of Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) may also be given at the time of submitting action taken statement for the perusal of the Committee.”

The committee has pushed for an increase in defence budget which is proportionate to the hike in defence spending of our neighbours. Accordingly, the capital budget of the Indian Army should be “sufficient to have a deterrent capacity to ward off adversaries in case of any hostility.”

According to data provided by the ministry, the committee highlighted a clear rise in the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) share of the Defence Services Estimates (DSE) revenue budget. Specifically, the IAF’s allocation grew from 8.83 per cent of the total DSE in 2021–22 to 10.80 per cent in 2026–27.

Published on August 8, 2026