India should consider significant enhancement to the TEJAS MK-1A fighter fleet by integrating advanced infrared search and track systems, a move that mirrors global trends in countering stealth aircraft.
The Indian Air Force has recognised that existing sensors on the TEJAS MK-1A do not provide the level of performance required to compete against increasingly sophisticated Chinese and Pakistani fighters in contested air combat environments across the Indian Ocean Region.
Unlike conventional radar, which actively emits signals and can be detected by adversary warning systems, IRST technology passively detects heat signatures generated by engines and airframes, offering a stealthy means of surveillance and engagement.
Infrared sensors detect emissions from engine exhausts, hot turbine components, aerodynamic heating of the fuselage, and even weapons bays. Since stealth shaping has little effect on infrared radiation, aircraft with minimal radar cross sections still produce detectable heat signatures.
IRST systems allow fighters to track and engage targets without revealing their own positions, while also being far less vulnerable to electronic warfare and radar jamming. This makes them particularly valuable in the Indian Ocean theatre, where electronic attack systems are proliferating and adversaries are deploying increasingly advanced stealth aircraft.
India’s current TEJAS MK-1A fighters rely heavily on radar and electronic sensors, but the integration of IRST would mark a major leap in capability.
For India, the focus is expected to be on developing an internally integrated IRST system for the TEJAS MK-1A, leveraging its digital mission architecture to fuse infrared data seamlessly with radar and electronic warfare inputs. This would preserve external hard-points for weapons and fuel tanks while providing a broader field of view and enhanced survivability.
Soviet fighters such as the MiG-29 and Su-27 integrated IRST systems as early as the 1980s, while Western fighters like the F-35 and F/A-18E Block 3 adopted them more recently. India’s adoption of IRST for the TEJAS MK-1A would therefore align with global best practices and ensure the fighter remains competitive against adversaries deploying stealth platforms.
Boeing has previously demonstrated nose-mounted IRST installations on the F-15EX, and similar configurations could be explored for the TEJAS MK-1A to maximise efficiency and combat effectiveness.
The urgency of this upgrade stems from China’s rapid procurement of advanced stealth fighters, including the J-20 and the lighter J-35, alongside at least two sixth-generation designs expected to enter service in the early 2030s.
Pakistan, meanwhile, continues to modernise its F-16 fleet with U.S.-supplied upgrades, further complicating India’s security environment. IRST-equipped TEJAS MK-1A fighters would provide the Indian Air Force with a critical edge in detecting and tracking these adversary aircraft, particularly in the dense electronic warfare environment of the Indian Ocean Region.
India may also consider pairing TEJAS MK-1A fighters with advanced electronic warfare aircraft, such as the upcoming DRDO-developed platforms, to limit adversary targeting capabilities at long ranges.
This would allow TEJAS fighters to close in and engage at shorter ranges where their lack of stealth is less of a disadvantage. However, adversary airborne early warning and control aircraft, which form the largest fleets in Asia, could complicate this approach by extending detection ranges and coordinating fighter responses.
The integration of IRST into the TEJAS MK-1A is therefore not just a technological upgrade but a strategic necessity. It would enhance survivability, improve detection of stealth threats, and ensure India’s indigenous fighter remains relevant in the evolving air combat environment of the Indian Ocean Region.
The move would also strengthen India’s defence industrial base, as indigenous development of IRST systems would reduce reliance on foreign suppliers and contribute to the broader “Make in India” initiative.
Agencies
