India pitches to join Future Combat Air System with France

At the 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru, this Feburary, India expressed its interest in joining France’s futuristic sixth-generation fighter jet programme.

The proposal was discussed in a meeting by India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, where Minister of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs of France Catherine Vautrin were also present.

According to official sources, Mr. Singh presented India’s intent to participate in the co-development and co-manufacture of a sixth-generation combat aircraft under the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme.

The ambitious project was originally launched by France and Germany in 2017, with Spain joining the initiative in 2019. India’s participation would mark a significant expansion of defence-industrial cooperation between New Delhi and Paris.

The FCAS programme aims to develop a next-generation air combat system centred around a sixth-generation fighter, supported by unmanned systems and advanced network-centric warfare capabilities.

In addition to discussions on advanced fighter collaboration, India also pitched for the export of India’s indigenous Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher (MBRL) system to France. Sources indicated that dialogs on the potential sale progressed positively.

“We are under talks for the export of India’s Pinaka Multi-Barrel Rocket Launcher to France. It was one of the key points in the meeting and discussions were on a positive note,” an official said.

India’s push for collaboration in sixth-generation fighter development comes even as it advances its own fifth-generation stealth programme, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

In May 2025, the government approved the development of the AMCA, with the first flight expected around 2028–29 and induction planned by 2035. For the first time India has opened the bid for AMCA to private companies.

India’s earlier attempt at a fifth-generation fighter programme through the joint Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project with Russia was discontinued in 2018 over various issues.

Meanwhile, India’s defence exports have reached a record high of ₹23,620 crore. It exports to over 100 nations, including to United States, France and Armenia. The government aims to achieve defence manufacturing worth ₹3 lakh crore and ₹50,000 crore in defence exports by 2029.