At the celebration of India's Republic Day, France** Macron attended the event and became the guest of honor of Indian Prime Minister Modi, which is a kind of overture from India to France. And France has not failed to live up to India's expectations, and India's ambassador to France, Ashraf, announced that Safran will provide technical support for India's domestic fifth-generation aircraft AMCA, including 100% technology transfer of engines, as well as subsequent R&D, certification and production assistance.
This is a major boon for India's aerospace industry, as Safran is one of the world's largest aerospace equipment manufacturers and its engine technology is world-class. The research and development of fifth-generation aircraft engines is very difficult and requires long-term investment and accumulation. China's J-20 is after years of hard work, gradually realized the replacement of domestic engines, and improved the performance of the fighter.
Is it feasible for India to use French technology to reach the sky in one step and achieve a breakthrough in the fifth generation aircraft? India has always had the thinking of "take-it-or-leave-it", just like the cooperation between India and the United States, the F414 engine is used in the LCA MK2 fighter, which can indeed speed up the research and development progress of LCA, but it will also sacrifice India's ability to innovate independently. This time, India also intends to use F414 engines for LCA MK2 and Safran engines for AMCA.
But there is a problem here, that is, France itself has not developed a fifth-generation aircraft, and there is no clear timetable for the "Future Air Combat System" (FCAS) being developed, and whether it can be put into service before 2050 is a question mark. In this case, how can France supply India with fifth-generation engines? Isn't this a bit like Russia's previous tricks to deceive India? Although Russia finally got the Su-57 out, France's things are still in the clouds, maybe France just wants to use India to do experiments and prepare for its future fighter engine development.
In fact, there are some things that there are no shortcuts, and India always relies on foreign technology to maintain its "power", which is unsustainable. And India is already significantly lagging behind in the field of fifth-generation aircraft. Indian media once said that China may have 400 J-20s by 2027, but India's AMCA may not be able to come out until the 30s of this century. Under such circumstances, India's forcible introduction of French engines will only further weaken India's own defense and military industry, and will only bring greater trouble to India's future.