INDIA'S SIXTH-GEN FIGHTER JET CONUNDRUM

China delivered a significant global surprise while unveiling two distinct prototypes of its sixth-generation combat aircraft. This development is one more affirmation that India has to do much to catch up with its neighbour in the east for aerospace supremacy reports on the development

- SAKSHI TIWARI

India got a rude shock in December 2024 when China flew two prototypes of sixth-generation combat aircraft, in a move that could only be described as an “incredible” leap in fighter jet technology. India, on the other hand, is left with a bigger gap in capability than it could afford.

For India, this is a debacle in the making. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is now down to just 31 squadrons of fighter jets in its inventory, against the sanctioned squadron strength of 42. The numbers are abysmal, the lowest since the 1965 Indo-Pakistan War. On top of that, it is now grappling with a yawning capability gap vis-à-vis China.

China started flying its fifth-generation J-20 ‘Mighty Dragon’ stealth aircraft more than a decade ago. The aircraft entered mass production and has since been deployed to all five theatre commands. Expanding capability, China unveiled a second fifth-generation stealth aircraft—the J-35A— at the Zhuhai Air Show in November 2024. Though India was cognisant of the fact that another Chinese stealth fighter was coming, it did not do much to quell the anxieties in New Delhi. Making the situation more precarious for India, Pakistan has already expressed interest in buying about 40 J-35A fighters.

While India was still coping with the debut of the J-35A, China pulled off a massive shocker at the end of December 2024 by flying two different prototypes of its sixth-generation combat aircraft. Unlike the J-35A, India did not see this coming. The flight test of what is now being referred to as the J-36 took the world by surprise. And it took India by storm.

These developments have unsettled India because even though a tenuous peace now exists at the disputed Line of Actual Control (LAC), intermittent Chinese acts near the border serve as a reminder that, while a military threat from China is postponed, it is far from over. India requires both advanced technology as well as numbers to prepare for a possible emergency.