India's 5th Gen Aircraft

HAL AMCA

In recent months we have looked at several new fifth-gen fighters, and how they may revolutionise foreign air forces. The first was the South Korean KAI KF-21, a twin-engine, twin-seat multirole aircraft with comparable goals to the F-35. The second was the Turkish TAI TF Kaan, a multirole fighter to replace the F-16. Both aircraft have taken their maiden flights.

Today, we will look at India’s domestic solution; a fifth-gen aircraft known as the HAL Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, or AMCA.

HISTORY

The AMCA project dates to 2010. At the time, the Indian Air Force was attempting a joint venture with Sukhoi, to produce a combat aircraft known as Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft. This never fully eventuated, however during the conceptual phase, a parallel project was started. This would be known as AMCA.

A feasibility study of the AMCA program was undertaken in October that year, and by 2013 a preliminary design phase was underway. Heading up the project was Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (or HAL) and the Aeronautical Development Agency (or ADA).

In November 2013, nine different designs were drawn up in CAD, and then studied over the following year. By the end of 2014, these designs had undergone wind tunnel and radar cross section testing. The results of this test led to a final choice from the nine designs, and by 2015 the basic configuration was finalised. This design would be a twin-engine diamond-trapezoidal-winged aircraft, with a V-tail, and a bubble canopy seating a single pilot. As with most other fifth gen designs, the AMCA concept looked like the F-35, presumably a by-product of balancing agility with a lowered radar cross section.

This design outline was presented to the Indian Air Force in 2016. That same year, the Air Force formally accepted the design concept.

One of the core goals of the conceptualisation phase was to come up with an aircraft which could replace the still relatively new Sukhoi Su-30MKI, the official Indian export variant of Russia’s Flanker-H. This in itself is a lofty ambition. The latest iterations of the Sukhoi 30 are arguably the best multirole aircraft produced in the east, save for possible classified projects.

In western terms, the Su-30 would be described as a 4.5^th gen fighter, similar to the modernised Super Hornet or Strike Eagle. Thus, the AMCA would be India’s equivalent of the F-35; a lighter, more modern alternative to a traditional multirole aircraft, yet still capable of performing similar missions. The AMCA proposal would have to fulfill several roles; namely air supremacy, SEAD, air interdiction, and electronic warfare.

PRODUCTION

Over the next couple of years, the rough design would be fleshed out. It was reported in 2020 by the Eurasian Times that one of the goals was to produce an aircraft which outwardly followed fifth gen fighter design principles, while internally being equipped with more modern technology, something akin to a sixth gen fighter. Given the time and difficulty of developing advanced systems domestically, it was revealed that the AMCA will have two initial phases. The first phase, Mark 1, would rely on various foreign systems, while later, a Mark 2 variant will feature more advanced internal systems, and other domestically produced technology.

The aircraft’s basic outward appearance of the airframe would be familiar – sporting proven low radar cross section design principles. Hindustan Aeronautics noted that their current twin tailplane design has a drastic effect on radar signature, in addition to other features such as an airframe composed of 30 to 40% composite radar absorbing material - as reported by both ADA and Janes Information Services - and internal weapons bays. During this stage came the implementation of new, refined air intakes. These new intakes, known as diverterless supersonic intakes (or DSI’s) with a serpentine or ’S-shaped’ inlet, reduce the visibility of the engines fan blades from the front. This is important, as fan blades can show up prominently on radar. In fact, in some modern aircraft, such as the F-16, another aircraft’s fan blades can be identified on radar and run through an onboard database to identify the aircraft type - usually known as Non Cooperative Target Recognition - which is used when Identification Friend or Foe Transponders fail.

Within the airframe, much was done to save weight. A fly-by-optics system was developed, which replaced a variety of sensor wiring with fibre optical cables. The radar is also reported to be somewhat new; a modified version of the domestically produced Uttam AESA radar. This series of domestically made radars are currently being tested on other Indian Air Force aircraft, namely the HAL Tajas - a delta wing fighter - with plans to eventually adapt it to the HAL TEDBF, MiG-29, and Flanker. 

India’s current ambition is not unlike Turkey’s. As we discussed in the TF KAAN video, Turkey’s ambition is to shift away from foreign reliance and towards domestic self-sufficiency, militarily at least. In the shorter term, their goal is to develop a number of domestic aircraft, including trainers, attack and utility helicopters, and multirole aircraft.

In much the same way, it appears that India is aiming at an improved level of domestic sustainability. This makes perfect sense as both Turkey and India find themselves at a crossroads between east and west. Geopolitically, their situation makes it difficult to project ambitions when relying on other nations, in uncertain times, when power and alliances can quickly shift.

Just as with Turkey’s TF KAAN fighter, another challenge in India is domestic engine production. In 2021, it was announced that the project was aiming for a joint venture to develop a semi-native engine, and in 2023, it was revealed that this engine development would likely occur under a joint India-France partnership known as Horizon 2047.

By 2023, after seven years of development, it was announced that the AMCA design phase had been completed.

In 2024 the prototype development project was given the equivalent of US $1.9 billion to produce five working prototypes of the current iteration of the design. This was confirmed by the Indian Defence Research and Development Organisation - or DRDO - with the expectation that the first prototype would be completed by 2027, with the first flight to be undertaken roughly one year after the rollout. This is slightly later than initially expected - in 2020 it was reported that the first flight was planned for either 2024 or 2025.

As it currently stands, the Mark 1 variant of the aircraft will be powered by two General Electric F-414 engines, which produce 90-kilonewtowns of power. In the future, the Mark 2 variant will see these two engines replaced by the more powerful domestic or joint venture design, which aims to produce 110-kilonewtons.

As mentioned in the TF KAAN video, domestically producing engines from scratch - or even with some help - is no small task. Most of the world looks to either America or Russia for engines. The primary issue is not power or capability, but also reliability and longevity. The F-414 engine currently being employed by India in various capacities is a tested engine, so while the on-paper ambitions may be high for a domestically built engine, unless it matches the reliability and precision engineering of the GE engine, it would generally be perceived as a better option to go with the tested, less powerful engine, then a more powerful engine potentially prone to failures and increased maintenance requirements.

Current plans pin the first production AMCA for 2029, with the goal of producing 125 aircraft. The Mark 1 variant will be used to equip 2 squadrons, while the Mark 2 will equip a further five.

SPECS

So how well is the aircraft expected to perform? Given that much of the project remains relatively classified, and that the aircraft is still in a prototyping phase, we will have to speculate from data published by Janes.

The first and most obvious element to gauge is general performance. Like many fifth gen concepts, it has been announced that the AMCA will likely have super-cruise capabilities. At full power, it will be capable of achieving a top speed of Mach 2.14. If this number is true, it would make it substantially faster than most other fifth gen designs. The F-35, KF-21, SU-75, J-31 and TF KAAN all have a claimed speed of around Mach 1.8, with only China’s J-20 coming close at Mach 2.0.

In terms of altitude, the claimed service ceiling will be around 65000 feet, slightly higher than most fifth gen designs, but not by too much. Again, this number must be taken with a grain of salt given that the aircraft’s working prototype is not yet complete.

Perhaps the most impressive claims are in regards to the aircraft’s range. It is listed as being capable of achieving a ferry range of over 5000 kilometres, while having a combat range of around 1600 kilometres. This effective combat range makes it a match for to the larger Flanker, while also supposedly outperforming the combat ranges for the F-35 and KF-21.

In terms of armament, the AMCA is listed as being capable of carrying up to 14,300 pounds of munitions. As with all fifth gen designs, this can be broken down into internal and external stores. Internally 3300 pounds of munitions can be held. Hypothetically, this would allow for something like 6 Mk-82 or FAB-500s, or a single Mk-83 with two Mk-82s, for example. There are also an unconfirmed number of external hard-points, allowing for a further 11000 pounds of weapons. In contrast, the Sukhoi 30MKI can carry roughly 18000 pounds, the F-15E 23000 pounds, and a similarly sized aircraft - the F-35 - 18000 pounds. The AMCAs smaller stores capacity may limit its payload delivery, although it may not impact effectiveness.

To exemplify this, the similarly sized F-16C can - on paper - carry six AG weapons on its two inner pylons, if triple clustered pylons are attached, along with a further two pylons holding two AG weapons each, plus four outward pylons for air to air missiles. This great level of firepower is never used. Most F-16s tasked with air to ground missions carry two to four AG weapons; leaving space for drop tanks on the two inboard pylons. This would likely keep AG stores at or below 4000 pounds. Thus, an argument can be made for or against the internal stores limitation of the fighter, although in practice it likely won’t have any detrimental effect.

It terms of specific armament types; it has been determined that - similar to the TF KAAN - the aircraft will be built around a number of indigenous systems currently in the works. This includes a variety of precision-guided munitions and laser guided bombs, as well as several air-to-ground missiles. In terms of standoff weapons, the aircraft will use a variety of infrared and active radar guided missiles referred to as Astra - a domestically produced family of missiles. Not much is known about the true capabilities of the Astra, although the Indian Air Force began adopting early variants of the missile in 2017, while further variants which will be found on the AMCA are still under development.

Other ambitious claims have been made regarding armament. Namely, India’s Air Force chief stated that one of the goals of the AMCA is to integrate a variety of more modernised weapons; including drones - both models outfitted for swarm and wingman capabilities - alongside directed energy weapons, hypersonic missiles, and eventually High-Altitude Platform Systems - or HAPS. This term generally refers to atmospheric pseudo-satellites, which can be launched from an aircraft, and will sit on station at a high altitude, and provide utilities like communication or observation.

Also worth noting is the single seat configuration. In the 80s and 90s, aircraft designs seemed to tend away from twin seat setups, as more faith was put into automated systems. Today however, we see many designers choosing to revert to a twin seat setup. The Chengdu J-20 for example - initially a single seat aircraft - is now being developed into a twin seat multirole aircraft, while South Korea’s KF-21 also features a twin seat setup. The reasons for this are multifaceted. Thanks to films like top gun, most are aware that the Radar intercept officer (RIO) or Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) were important, and the role went beyond calling out nails or spikes on the radar warning receiver. In practice the RIO or WSO would take care of a variety of information intensive systems, including targeting pods, electronic countermeasures and radar specifics, and of course keeping an eye on the radar warning receiver, and generally helping the guy in the front seat.

Today it is similar, but with an increasing focus on datalink related tasks, drone tasking, and other forms of cross-system networking both between air assets, as well as units or utilities on the ground, sea, and in the future, space. Working as a team has obvious advantages over single handedly trying to manage a variety of systems. This would become obvious when a single seater aircraft - such as an F-16 - is tasked with a particular mission in an uncertain environment; for example, a precision strike in contested airspace; with two multifunction displays, he would have to keep an eye on a targeting pod or AG radar on one, and likely a HSD with datalink on the other. Pilots are well trained to do this, but could this be done better and safer by dividing the tasks between two rather than one?

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

With all this in mind, it is easy to see just how ambitious this project is. It shares perhaps more commonality with Turkeys TF KAAN then it does with the KF-21. Namely, both projects have put much more on the line; the TF KAAN aims to replace the F-16, and the AMCA aims to replace the Flanker-H, both with designs essentially starting from scratch. Both the F-16 and the Flanker represent great designs dating back to the 1970s, with hundreds of thousands of hours of flight time, research, and improvements accrued over the decades, all built off of the backs of the best Russian and American minds which emerged during World War 2, so it is commendable to say the least that countries such as South Korea, Turkey, and India are aiming to produce something domestically in a bid to outperform these legendary designs. This sort of ambition may be seen as misguided, but both South Korea and Turkey have working concepts already in the air.