In the midst of a fresh weapons race with Pakistan, weeks after a military confrontation between the neighbors, India’s defense minister announced on Tuesday that he has cleared a framework for the construction of the nation’s most sophisticated stealth fighter jet.
According to the ministry, the Indian state-run Aeronautical Development Agency, which is carrying out the initiative, will soon solicit preliminary interest from defense companies for creating a prototype of the warplane, which is intended to be a twin-engine, fifth-generation fighter.
At a time when rival China is quickly growing its air force, the Indian Air Force’s squadrons of primarily Russian and former Soviet aircraft have shrunk to 31 from an authorized strength of 42. This project is vital to the Indian Air Force.
