If given a choice, IAF would happily Walk Away from Tejas - Angad Singh - Defence Writer

[bengalcdn]

They have a massive problem now. No Tejas and even if they order Rafales the rest of the fleet is approaching obsolesence.

120 Jaguars from 70s/80s
100 odd Mirage2k/MIG-29s from 80s
250 SU-30MKIs from 90s/2000s

470 planes will soon need retiring in next 10 years or deep upgrades, only 114 Rafales on order or potentially on order. Tejas was supposed to suplement this number but will not now.

The maths is simply not adding up. If India is lucky, big if, it may well just have 140 odd planes (current Rafale fleet plus new orders) it can call modern in 10 years.

Also remember, SU-30s and Rafales in their current form have been downed by Pakistan, that is a technical and psychological edge they will also need to desteratley fix

To be frank India or any other country does not need that many manned fighters. They have the CATS warrior program, instead they should advance that program further and purchase more of these unmanned drones like Turkey with kizkiema and China with its various different jet drones such GJ11, darksword etc

 

[Yasser76]

To be frank India or any other country does not need that many manned fighters. They have the CATS warrior program, instead they should advance that program further and purchase more of these unmanned drones like Turkey with kizkiema and China with its various different jet drones such GJ11, darksword etc

Yeah, much easier said then done right?

 

[nahtanbob]

Yup, right now with two 6th Gen planes flying, can India even realistically match that level of tech in next 20 years? No. By then God only knows what China will have developed.

IAF missed a big trick here. They could have got the F-16 production line cheap off Lockheed who were willing to set up all global F-16 production in India and they could have got Rafale line 20 years ago.
If they had done that HAL would now be churning out 1 Sqd of Rafales and 1 Sqd of F-16Vs every year, IAF would be a very modern air force with compatibility with SE Asian and Gulf Air Forces. Back in the 70s and 80s they had two lines going for Jaguar and MIG-21 and churning them out like hot cakes, PAF at one point (pre F-16) was stuck with F-6s and Mirgae IIIs. How times have changed.

Not only now have the MIG-21s been retired and not replaced, but SU-30 is suffering from servicability issues and soon block obsolesence. Rafale order alone will simply not cut it. I see IAF going down to 22-23 Sqds in 5-10 years

they have been offered everything from Mirage-2000, MiG-29, Rafale, F-16 production lines over the years. But then may be manned combat aircraft might not matter in a decade or so

 

[Anatolia]

To be frank India or any other country does not need that many manned fighters. They have the CATS warrior program, instead they should advance that program further and purchase more of these unmanned drones like Turkey with kizkiema and China with its various different jet drones such GJ11, darksword etc

When you say “India should just do what Turkiye or China are doing with drones,” but that ignores the reality of how different these ecosystems actually are.

Turkiye and China didn’t magically jump to advanced jet‑powered UCAVs. They spent 15–20 years building the industrial base: engine programs, composite manufacturing, avionics, datalinks, autonomous flight stacks, and mass‑production lines. Baykar and AVIC didn’t appear overnight did they? they were the result of long, painful iteration.

India can get there, but it’s not a copy‑paste job. CATS Warrior, Ghatak, and the upcoming loyal wingman projects are promising, but they need:

• consistent funding
• domestic engine development
• reliable manufacturing pipelines
• autonomy software that’s actually combat‑ready
• integration with existing fighter fleets

Turkiye and China already solved those bottlenecks. India is still solving them.

So yes, unmanned systems are the future — no argument there. But pretending India can instantly replicate Turkiye’s Kızılelma or China’s GJ‑11/Darksword ignores the industrial groundwork those countries already laid.

 

[Yasser76]

they have been offered everything from Mirage-2000, MiG-29, Rafale, F-16 production lines over the years. But then may be manned combat aircraft might not matter in a decade or so

Well with manned 6th Gen programmes, Europe, US and China disagree.