According to a former Chief of Air Staff RKS Bhadauria in an interview with Shiv Aroor of India Today said that India is making progress on its fifth-generation fighter program and should push forward with the MK-2 and AMCA. The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is the only fifth-generation fighter currently under development in India.

A fifth-generation fighter is a jet fighter aircraft classification that includes major technologies developed in the first part of the 21st century. As of 2024, these are the most advanced fighters in operation.

Combat aviation continues to remain the most preferred means of prosecution of war. The one who controls air and space will dominate all operations. Military aviation continues to see the fastest growth of technology.

Agility – speed and manoeuvrability -- remains important, but it has become less consequential. Occasions for close-combat engagements are reducing. Long-range beyond-visual-range (BVR) combat requires sensors and weapons that allow ability to “see first, shoot first, hit first”. High-exposure close air support can now be taken on by drones and unmanned platforms. Long range and precision strike ability has become more important. Information superiority and shortened decision loop will decide the victor.

India and France has agreed to co-develop a high-thrust jet engine for India’s fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) MK-2.

Following the positive development on the engine front, developers of the AMCA are keenly awaiting clearances from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for additional funds to speed up the project. Engine development has been a major hurdle to an upgraded version of the AMCA the MK-2. For the initial lot of the AMCA MK-1, India has shortlisted the GE-F414 jet engine. It will be manufactured in the country under a co-production agreement between General Electric of the US and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation), which is developing the AMCA, wants a high-thrust 110 kN engine to meet the supercruise requirements of the AMCA MK-2. This feature is not available in existing jet engines globally. Broadly, super cruising allows a jet to go supersonic, that is travel faster than the speed of sound, without engaging its afterburner, thereby decreasing fuel consumption and increasing flying range, among other things.

A fighter jet with supercruise feature will put India in an elite club of countries with their own fifth-generation fighter jets. The ADA had been in touch with multiple foreign players, such as France’s Safran, General Electric of the US and the British Rolls Royce, for co-developing fighter jet engines in India.

As things stand, the first 40 AMCA jets will fly on GE-F414 engines. The MK-2 version of the aircraft will use an engine co-developed in India with a foreign player.

Modi’s visit saw France and India announce they would work to co-develop a military jet engine. “In future, India and France will extend their ground-breaking defence cooperation in advanced aeronautical technologies by supporting the joint development of a combat aircraft engine.”

According to a source, the roadmap for co-development of the jet engine would be prepared by Safran and DRDO this year. Safran also has a memorandum of understanding with HAL for developing a helicopter engine.

Jean-Paul Alary, CEO of Safran Aircraft Engines, said in an interview with Indian news media in October 2023, that this initiative aligns with their strategic commitment to building enduring relationships with India's aviation industry to support its growing domestic market. It also represents a milestone in efforts to enhance India's sovereign capabilities in aero engine design and manufacturing, preparing the Indian industry for ambitious indigenous programmes like the AMCA engine.

In 2022, India's cabinet committee on security approved ₹10,000 crore rupees in funding for the MK-2 fighter jet. The Indian Air Force has said it plans to order 200 MK-2 Jets. However, the TEJAS MK-2 won't take to the air before 2027.