Indian Air Force: News & Discussions

The GOI must urgently push both the engine and airframe programs into a Manhattan Project-style effort. This has now become even more critical than the nuclear program. Developing our own 5th-generation platform, along with an indigenous engine, is the only viable path forward, anything else risks catastrophic defeat in a future conflict.

We must spare no expense, recruit global talent, reverse engineer technology if needed, and engage as many Indian companies as possible. Whatever it takes, this has to be done without delay.
 
Option 1 : Import F 35

Lets say India negotiates (begs) US to allow purchase of 36 F 35 aircraft throughout 2025-26. Finally US agrees and in 2026-27 a deal is signed for ~$8 bn.

The deal will include US weapons like AIM 120 C7, JDAM, etc and WILL be subject to US rules and regulations regarding intended usage. Also, India will have ZERO access to IP and will need to reply on US contractors to service these aircraft.

The first aircraft will be delivered 4-6 years after the signing of the deal (2030-2031). Then the rest over the next two years (2032-2033).

Option 2 : Persist on AMCA

By comparison, AMCA rollout is scheduled for 2026, which is reasonable given titanium bulkhead cutting and other small scale part manufacturing started in 2022.

First flight, depending on how many subsystems are installed in the AMCA will be 2027-2028. Then add another 3 years of tests (weapon-radar integration, certification, flight envelope tests, manuals, troubleshooting, compatibility) and by 2030-31 you have a somewhat ready IOC capable fighter.

Another 2 years 2032-2033 you have a FOC capable AMCA. If we sign GE F414 engine deal in 2025 (hopefully) and it takes 2 years to build the facility while we import some GE F414 engines as part of the deal, then by 2027 facility is ready. By 2028 domestic assembly of GE F414 commences and by 2031-32 everything is in place for AMCA to be mass produced and inducted.

Conclusion :

In both cases, India won't receive a 5th generation fighter before 2031-32 at the earliest. Bear in mind that it will take another 2-3 years to have at least 2-3 operationally ready squadrons of the F 35/AMCA so ~2034.

India needs to produce more SU 30 MKI, mass produce Tejas MK2, finish the 180 Tejas MK1A and missile-radar max until the mid 2030s.

We have to think like we are playing Chess from both sides.
> Buy F-35 then 🇮🇳=>:basanti:in hands of 🇺🇸. :nono:⚠️🚨
> If plan to produce more Su-30MKI then compare price of Su-57 in ratio of their capabilities & explain Russia straight "you jet is not proper 5gen, so ask money accordingly" or else BYE! 🙏
> Absorb professionals as per skill into industry, govt. & private, with proper security, start work in 2 shifts - morning & afternoon, so double the speed of work. If people willing to work night shift for certain jobs, let them. Give shift allowances. Now people can't complain there is no job. So introduce performance based pay. Democracy, Socialism doesn't mean free salary by someone else income tax.
> Fast track Kaveri & JV engines R&D. Meanwhile explore using M-88 instead of F414.
> Think scientifically, not sentimentally. 4gen jets worldwide are like senior citizens. They can supplement for 1or2 decades till 6gen get IOC. The agile ones can still pose threat if they survive BVR. Su-30MKI can gun down LCA, MWF. LCA is like new MiG-21 of this era. MWF, Gripen, J-10 are on same level. meteor like Ramjet AAMs can be fired with their AESA radars but they'll also be shot down.
> Fast track AMCA & radically re-engineer it for 5.5gen in Mk1 itself.
> Make MWF & TEDBF stealthy.
> Fast track UCAV tech.
> Start R&D on AHCA (Fighter, Fighter-Bomber).
> Improve IADS/SAMs.
> Meanwhile till then India has to suffer consequences of lazyness, ignorance, arrogance, procrastination, if China attacks Ladakh &/or Arunachal Pradesh. Losses will be on both sides, probably resulting in stalemate &/or losing some territory. But it might trigger multi-front war for China also which can limit their attack on us.

Hence in daily life we all should think & contribute in our capacity & never discourage, stop, manipulate others. Some are operationally good but not conceptually, some are conceptually good but not operationally. (Industrial experience).
 
The GOI must urgently push both the engine and airframe programs into a Manhattan Project-style effort. This has now become even more critical than the nuclear program. Developing our own 5th-generation platform, along with an indigenous engine, is the only viable path forward, anything else risks catastrophic defeat in a future conflict.

We must spare no expense, recruit global talent, reverse engineer technology if needed, and engage as many Indian companies as possible. Whatever it takes, this has to be done without delay.
Sons of bihar think alike. I had a post exactly worded like this saved in draft but since you said it I don't need to.
Tbh I see no reason to show greater concern all of a sudden due the sixer launched by China. As of know we don't know its specifications and I doubt it would be remarkably above the specs of the 5 th gen fighter that they had before.

As for us what we are encountering now is a hiccup in supply chain, this exact situation should compel us to invest more in securing the supply chain. Kaveri needs to be put in the same priority as indian nuclear program and act as if our life depends upon it which in a way it does.
 
SPOILER/SARCASM:

BREAKING NEWS ⚠️🚨🔔🎙️📢📡📰📺
Photo pf another mysterious plane has leaked.

1735475323145.webp
:oops::rolleyes::eeek::shocked::wtfcat::wtf::whoa:
It looks apparently western. Astonishingly it also has 3 engines.
It is speculated that the viertical tails are for testing & safety & can be detached on ground.
USA may have finnaly revealed NGAD tech demonstrator. Many people are saying that this could be old X/Y series jet based on F-22 airframe to save money, or X/Y-FB-22. May be 3x F-119 engines were used, while real NGAD TD may have used 2x F-135 engines.
More pics are not available yet but bcoz the top hump looks like it is for cockpit, not for engine like in J-36, so the intake for middle engine lies beside the other intakes at same level. The wings may have been widened. It could look like following:

1735475660491.webp

NOTE: These are just simple edits in MS Paint. Hope you all had or having a good Sunday.
:troll::bplease::LOL::ROFLMAO::bump2::laugh::rockon: :sarcastic::facepalm2::facepalm4::doh:
 
Not countering you in any way, just adding a point.

If indeed it's acquired then it'd be most probably a stop-gap measure to counter Chinese and (especially) Pakistani stealth jets. So we can assume that A2A should be the priority instead of A2G. And for A2A we already have AIM-132 and Meteor that we can fire without asking USA everytime before pulling the trigger.

Obviously strings would be attached because it's USA (INS Jalashwa) but atleast in pure air-dominance things won't be that bleak.

I was just pondering over this (((stop gap measure))) jhumla that defence patrakars and the Genrols peddle to justify their import khori.
Contrast it with other reports saying the Chings are producing ~40 J-20s a year and already have like 300 let alone the 500+ numbers of their other non-stealth planes
Now they are developing 6th gen jets, they are adding a high power and fancy AWACS radar to their C-17 clone.
Their current stocks and yearly production far exceeds whatever we have even assuming AAAAH IM IMPOOORTING

So the air war is already lost, doesn't matter how much (((emergency procoorments stop gap measure))) they do.

Even with your ((( sanctioned 42 squadrons ))) they will still be winning in the numbers and even the tech game.

So we have only two plays one short term and the other long term

Short Term
Missile maxxx and Radar max, mass produce Pralay, Nirbhay other such missiles and their TELs and whatever other equipment they need, fast track Project Kusha missiles and radars and produce/acquire/fast-track more VL-SRSAM( A ground launch version needs to be made also ) Barak-8 launchers, SPYDER, Akash-NG, QRSAM etc and try to import or fast track the best radars possible

Long Term
Even by next year they must release good funding for AMCA, Tejas Mk2 and most importantly Kaveri development( perf target should be GE F414 and even physical dimensions ), some mechanism must be ensured to give consistent funding, Genrols and dalals must be kept out especially for Kaveri and they need to buy all the necessary infra like a Flying Test Bed and Wind Tunnels so that we don't have to run to foreign countries for testing
 
I don't know what IAF/DRDO genuises did during 2014-2024 that recently they woke up for Project Kusha.

Even if they were not confident then, should had initiated joint development with Israelis after all they splurged some 6-Billion. Atleast Israeli stuff works for the money spent. This is regarding Counter-Air.

As for Missiles, Design Optimization is missing big time. Every thing looks like Science Project. No proper Missile VLS Or TEL. Add on that they are using foreign trucks to haul them. Missiles maybe ready but only in Science Fair sense and not in Ready to Use sense.
 

Frankly I'm of the opinion in spite of our age (here , I'm referring to people in their late 20's onwards which comprises a substantial chunk of the forum as opposed to the teens & people in their early to mid 20s , whom one can excuse , where in case of the former for their age & the latter for being at a stage in life where their PoV hasn't quite crystallised which in most cases happens once they reach their late 20s ) we haven't quite learnt to let go of knee jerk reactions.

Please note /vampyrbladez , I'm not targeting you with this observation but rather making a generic comment.

That the F-35 or the Su-57 may come to AI-25 is no guarantee of their being offered to India at least in case of the former or of the IAF's decision to procure them . Rather it could simply be a means to draw more eyeballs & footfalls to the exhibition , a way to boost its prestige & image given practically every nation worth its salt is nowadays hosting such events.

Regarding the entire issue of the "6th Gen " Chinese Aircrafts which made their first publically viewed flight & the discussion here over the past few days & pages which sometimes turned passionate & heated , everybody seems to believe in order to counter stealth we need more stealth. Yes that's one way to counter it but how about detection & tracking it ?

Has it occurred to people here that all those countries aiming for stealth be it the likes of countries like RoK or even Turkiye what to speak of the likes of the USA or China or even Russia may have a program to detect & track stealth , both passive & active with ways of neutralizing the active stealth ?

Can anybody with adequate knowledge elaborate on the Akashteer program of the IA which is to be layered with the IACCS of the IAF & the Trigun System of the IN ? Let me explain in brief why I believe this would probably be our silver bullet to combat at least the problem of stealth we face from Chinese platforms .

Years ago a handle on Strat Front , formerly Decklander on DFI to veterans here who recall him , spoke of how 4th Gen cell towers / radars could work as a grid in times of an emergency to triangulate the position of any object such that a grid could in theory be formed to operate on a pan country basis to generate detection & if I'm not mistaken tracking systems for such objects which in our case happens to be stealth fighters .

I've no clue what the range is but today we've , as in the world or in any case a few countries certainly do posses this technology which is probably much more of a prized secret as compared to stealth so much so that while you've reams of paper published online & offline on stealth you won't come across even a whisper on the topic.



Scroll to the post of Quora & once on the page scroll down to the answer posted by the Quora bot by the name of Assistant . You'd discover something very very interesting.
 
...but how about detection & tracking it ?

Can anybody with adequate knowledge elaborate on the Akashteer program of the IA which is to be layered with the IACCS of the IAF & the Trigun System of the IN ? Let me explain in brief why I believe this would probably be our silver bullet to combat at least the problem of stealth we face from Chinese platforms .

Years ago a handle on Strat Front , formerly Decklander on DFI to veterans here who recall him , spoke of how 4th Gen cell towers / radars could work as a grid in times of an emergency to triangulate the position of any object such that a grid could in theory be formed to operate on a pan country basis to generate detection & if I'm not mistaken tracking systems for such objects which in our case happens to be stealth fighters .

I've no clue what the range is but today we've , as in the world or in any case a few countries certainly do posses this technology which is probably much more of a prized secret as compared to stealth so much so that while you've reams of paper published online & offline on stealth you won't come across even a whisper on the topic.
There are multiple ways in which one can detect a stealth fighter. These are just those that I can think of now, I'm sure others can remind me of more
• low frequency (or large wavelength) radars. Aviation stealth is achieved by optimising the platform against Ku/Ka/K/X frequencies as these are what you'd commonly find on seekers and fire control radars so use U/VHF
• acoustic sensors. Multiple high sensitivity microphones in an interferometer type set-up, coupled with advanced algorithm to pretty accurately guess the direction.
• multi-static radars. Stealth planes are typically optimised for stealth on just one side, so look from others.
• shift spectrum of IR. Cooled, staring arrays of LWIR cameras can rival small wavelength radars in terms of detecting stealth platforms.
• passive radars. The one you mentioned, making a "pond" by linking together all the TV, cell, radio towers and wheather stations so that if anything entered this "pond" you'd feel a disturbance on the surface.
• ELINT. A plane can turn off its radars but not radio waves emissions, things like altimeter also uses RF. Sensitive ELINT stations can detect this
• data fusion. Even a sipahi can use his smartphone to record clips of any planes and upload it on a semi-secure network. From where it'd get converted to attack vectors.
• satellites. We can both monitor their airbases 24*7 with high fidelity imagining satellites to look for movements and monitor our skies with multi-spectrum S/M/L-WIR satellites to look for exhaust plumes.

But as of now we've only completed the first step of a military kill chain; Find.
Find -> Fix -> Track -> Target -> Engage -> Assess
Even if we ignore the last step and assume that we've sufficient assets to deal with the second last step (Kusha)...we're still left with three steps. And these are where all the problems starts. Compared to the multiple solutions we've for first step, we've virtually nothing for these.
 
Frankly I'm of the opinion in spite of our age (here , I'm referring to people in their late 20's onwards which comprises a substantial chunk of the forum as opposed to the teens & people in their early to mid 20s , whom one can excuse , where in case of the former for their age & the latter for being at a stage in life where their PoV hasn't quite crystallised which in most cases happens once they reach their late 20s ) we haven't quite learnt to let go of knee jerk reactions.

Please note /vampyrbladez , I'm not targeting you with this observation but rather making a generic comment.

That the F-35 or the Su-57 may come to AI-25 is no guarantee of their being offered to India at least in case of the former or of the IAF's decision to procure them . Rather it could simply be a means to draw more eyeballs & footfalls to the exhibition , a way to boost its prestige & image given practically every nation worth its salt is nowadays hosting such events.

Regarding the entire issue of the "6th Gen " Chinese Aircrafts which made their first publically viewed flight & the discussion here over the past few days & pages which sometimes turned passionate & heated , everybody seems to believe in order to counter stealth we need more stealth. Yes that's one way to counter it but how about detection & tracking it ?

Has it occurred to people here that all those countries aiming for stealth be it the likes of countries like RoK or even Turkiye what to speak of the likes of the USA or China or even Russia may have a program to detect & track stealth , both passive & active with ways of neutralizing the active stealth ?

Can anybody with adequate knowledge elaborate on the Akashteer program of the IA which is to be layered with the IACCS of the IAF & the Trigun System of the IN ? Let me explain in brief why I believe this would probably be our silver bullet to combat at least the problem of stealth we face from Chinese platforms .

Years ago a handle on Strat Front , formerly Decklander on DFI to veterans here who recall him , spoke of how 4th Gen cell towers / radars could work as a grid in times of an emergency to triangulate the position of any object such that a grid could in theory be formed to operate on a pan country basis to generate detection & if I'm not mistaken tracking systems for such objects which in our case happens to be stealth fighters .

I've no clue what the range is but today we've , as in the world or in any case a few countries certainly do posses this technology which is probably much more of a prized secret as compared to stealth so much so that while you've reams of paper published online & offline on stealth you won't come across even a whisper on the topic.



Scroll to the post of Quora & once on the page scroll down to the answer posted by the Quora bot by the name of Assistant . You'd discover something very very interesting.
The idea of countering stealth with more stealth lies in mirror deployment. Pakistan does a Pulwama, we do a Balakot. If Pakistan has J 35, we will discard an aerial action and Pakistan gets emboldened to do a bigger terror attack.

I was the one who clarified that regardless of AMCA or F 35, we aren't getting a stealth fighter in IAF livery before 2030-2031. Thus missile-radar maxing (kill chain optimization) is key.

India is now running to Russia for the Voronezh radar system and accelerating deployment of Project Kusha to counter stealth defensively.

India plans to buy this massive $4 billion wall-like radar to neutralise Chinese threats from 6,000 km away


quote-once-is-happenstance-twice-is-coincidence-three-times-is-enemy-action-ian-fleming-9-77-18.jpg
 
The idea of countering stealth with more stealth lies in mirror deployment. Pakistan does a Pulwama, we do a Balakot. If Pakistan has J 35, we will discard an aerial action and Pakistan gets emboldened to do a bigger terror attack.

I was the one who clarified that regardless of AMCA or F 35, we aren't getting a stealth fighter in IAF livery before 2030-2031. Thus missile-radar maxing (kill chain optimization) is key.

India is now running to Russia for the Voronezh radar system and accelerating deployment of Project Kusha to counter stealth defensively.

India plans to buy this massive $4 billion wall-like radar to neutralise Chinese threats from 6,000 km away


quote-once-is-happenstance-twice-is-coincidence-three-times-is-enemy-action-ian-fleming-9-77-18.jpg
Voronezh early warning radar systems are good for defensive purposes. What we also need is full funding & collaboration to fast track AMCA & Kaveri .
 
There are multiple ways in which one can detect a stealth fighter. These are just those that I can think of now, I'm sure others can remind me of more
• low frequency (or large wavelength) radars. Aviation stealth is achieved by optimising the platform against Ku/Ka/K/X frequencies as these are what you'd commonly find on seekers and fire control radars so use U/VHF
• acoustic sensors. Multiple high sensitivity microphones in an interferometer type set-up, coupled with advanced algorithm to pretty accurately guess the direction.
• multi-static radars. Stealth planes are typically optimised for stealth on just one side, so look from others.
• shift spectrum of IR. Cooled, staring arrays of LWIR cameras can rival small wavelength radars in terms of detecting stealth platforms.
• passive radars. The one you mentioned, making a "pond" by linking together all the TV, cell, radio towers and wheather stations so that if anything entered this "pond" you'd feel a disturbance on the surface.
• ELINT. A plane can turn off its radars but not radio waves emissions, things like altimeter also uses RF. Sensitive ELINT stations can detect this
• data fusion. Even a sipahi can use his smartphone to record clips of any planes and upload it on a semi-secure network. From where it'd get converted to attack vectors.
• satellites. We can both monitor their airbases 24*7 with high fidelity imagining satellites to look for movements and monitor our skies with multi-spectrum S/M/L-WIR satellites to look for exhaust plumes.

But as of now we've only completed the first step of a military kill chain; Find.
Find -> Fix -> Track -> Target -> Engage -> Assess
Even if we ignore the last step and assume that we've sufficient assets to deal with the second last step (Kusha)...we're still left with three steps. And these are where all the problems starts. Compared to the multiple solutions we've for first step, we've virtually nothing for these.
Which is the reason I began by asking someone in the know to elaborate on the layering of the Akashteer system of the IA with the IN 's Trigun & the IAF's IACCS systems .

If detection was all that mattered the L band radar can already do it. I've a gut feeling we've gone well past detection to tracking stealth.

The kill chain could consist of various vectors including Kusha. MKI & Rafale armed with Astra -3 receiving inputs from the IACCS supplemented with a potential combination of some among the plethora of elements you've described , with a range of 200+ kms & a NEZ of say 50 kms is also a part of the same kill chain
 
The idea of countering stealth with more stealth lies in mirror deployment. Pakistan does a Pulwama, we do a Balakot. If Pakistan has J 35, we will discard an aerial action and Pakistan gets emboldened to do a bigger terror attack.

I was the one who clarified that regardless of AMCA or F 35, we aren't getting a stealth fighter in IAF livery before 2030-2031. Thus missile-radar maxing (kill chain optimization) is key.

India is now running to Russia for the Voronezh radar system and accelerating deployment of Project Kusha to counter stealth defensively.

India plans to buy this massive $4 billion wall-like radar to neutralise Chinese threats from 6,000 km away


quote-once-is-happenstance-twice-is-coincidence-three-times-is-enemy-action-ian-fleming-9-77-18.jpg
Voronezh is our OTHR for BMD in order to detect launch of such missile especially CMs & Hypersonic Missiles like the one we just tested apart from BMs for the second or third phase of our BMD development & deployments .


View: https://x.com/Defencematrix1/status/1871632045702816182

THREAD !

This thread should serve a good primer for that purpose.

If we wanted stealth we could've always gone in for a combination of Russian Rezonans-NE & Nebo M & you don't eliminate threats from 6000 kms away not with our capabilities but you detect & track them from that far.
 
The idea of countering stealth with more stealth lies in mirror deployment. Pakistan does a Pulwama, we do a Balakot. If Pakistan has J 35, we will discard an aerial action and Pakistan gets emboldened to do a bigger terror attack.

I was the one who clarified that regardless of AMCA or F 35, we aren't getting a stealth fighter in IAF livery before 2030-2031. Thus missile-radar maxing (kill chain optimization) is key.

India is now running to Russia for the Voronezh radar system and accelerating deployment of Project Kusha to counter stealth defensively.

India plans to buy this massive $4 billion wall-like radar to neutralise Chinese threats from 6,000 km away


quote-once-is-happenstance-twice-is-coincidence-three-times-is-enemy-action-ian-fleming-9-77-18.jpg

Paki not going to get stealth jets so soon, we need to build right now for missile-radar maxxxing vs China like you have suggested for war within this decade.

By 2030s atleast something will be in production hopefully like Tejas mk2.

Don't think imports will happen but even if it does there will be MRFA multi vendor tender, trials, price negotiations and other political/media drama that will stretch into years unless they go the F16 jaziya for F35 route
 
Everyone here have suggested what they think should be the best course of action against the numerical as well as technological superiority of PLAF. And to be honest most of the ideas like investment in stealth detection capabilities, making a SAM-Porcupine or redesigning AMCA indeed holds value.

But sometimes it's best to explore the unorthodox route when you're in a dire situation.

Screenshot_2024-12-30-17-37-47-26_6bcd734b3b4b52977458a65c801426b0.webp
 
chinese destroyed our airforce without even doing anything... not like it was much of a deterrent anyways
Tbh pant shitting Youthiya are crumbling under imaginary might of chinese 6th Gen.
If it's about deploying a working fuselage than even Turkiye has deployed its 5 th gen.

images


Does it Mean anything?

I am sure HAL can shit out a prototype attach two sukhoi engines and call it 5th Gen to appease youthiyas but.

If you were following Amca thread than you would have know
We have worked ok Radar absorbent paint and that too has been done by multiple colleges.


https://www.spsnavalforces.com/experts-speak/?id=568&h=Stealth-Vehicles
IIT mandi

Radar absorbent material for internal weapon bay lining ( IIT Kharag)

Serpentile intake.

1735567336400.webp


Canopy will be sourced indigenously


We need to get the old AMCA archive back so that youthiyas can learn how far we have come.
 
Last edited:

Article from Yusuf from DFI, has most of the missile-radar-maxxing we're discussing here plus some other stuff but surprisingly even he agrees on the A2/AD maxxing, was expecting Vishnu Som style shilling for emergency procoor of F-35 and getting into FCAS program and all

Looks like he also lurks here :troll:
 

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