In recent months, we have
looked at several new fifth gen fighters and how they may revolutionize
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 (AMCA). 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 (HAL) and the Aeronautical Development Agency (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 finalized. 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 byproduct 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 conceptualization
phase was to come up with an aircraft which could replace the still
relatively new SukhoiSu-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 4.5th gen fighter, similar to the modernized 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 multi-role aircraft, yet still capable of performing
similar missions. The AMCA proposal would have to fulfill
several roles, namely air supremacy suppression of enemy air defenses,
air interdiction and electronic warfare. 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 generation fighter. Given the time and difficulty of
developing advanced systems domestically, it was revealed that the AMC
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 tail plane 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 (DSIs) with a serpentine or ’S-shaped’ inlet, reduce the visibility of the engine's
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 fiber 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 multi-role 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,
the 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 USD $1.9B to produce five working prototypes
of the current iteration of the design. This was confirmed by the Indian Defense
Research and Development Organization, 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 than 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
two squadrons, while the Mark 2 will equip a further five. 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 the 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 supercruise
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 65,000 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 kilometers while having a combat range of around 1600
kilometers. This effective combat range
makes it a match for the 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 14,300lbs of munitions. As with all fifth gen designs,
this can be broken down into internal and external stores internally, 3,300lbs
of munitions can be held. Hypothetically, this would allow for something
like six Mk-82 or FAB-500s, or a single Mk-83 with two Mk-82s. There are also an unconfirmed number
of external hard points, allowing for a further 11,000lbs of weapons. In contrast, the Sukhoi 30MKI can carry
roughly 18,000lbs, the F-15E 23,000lbs and a similarly sized aircraft - the F-35 - 18,000lbs. The AMCA's smaller stores capacity
may limit its payload delivery, although it may not impact overall mission
effectiveness. To exemplify this,
the similarly sized F-16C can, on paper, carry six air-to-ground
weapons on its two inner pylons. If triple clustered pylons are attached,
along with a further two pylons holding two air to ground weapons each plus four
outward pylons for air-to-air missiles. Although tasking with
this level of firepower is unlikely, most F-16s tasked with air-to-ground
missions carry 2 to 4 AG weapons, leaving space for drop
tanks on the two inboard pylons. This would likely keep AG stores
at or below 4,000lbs. 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. In 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 modernized 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 eighties and nineties, aircraft designs seem 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 Weapons 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 task
between two rather than one? With all this in mind, it is easy to see
just how ambitious this project is. It seems to have more in common
with Turkey's TF KAAN than it does with the KF-21. Both projects
have certainly 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 with the best Russian and American minds
emerging from World War II. It's 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. The next decade
is going to be very interesting to watch as these domestic projects mature.
