印度在與巴基斯坦關係緊張之際,批准隱形戰鬥機計劃

Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:

India approves stealth fighter program amid tensions with Pakistan

Reuters

Tue, May 27, 2025 at 1:05 a.m. PDT·2 min read

India’s defense minister has approved a framework for building the country’s most advanced stealth fighter jet, the defense ministry said on Tuesday, amid a new arms race with Pakistan weeks after a military conflict between the neighbors.

Indian state-run Aeronautical Development Agency, which is executing the program, will shortly invite initial interest from defense firms for developing a prototype of the warplane, envisaged as a twin-engine 5th generation fighter, the ministry said.

The project is crucial for the Indian Air Force, whose squadrons of mainly Russian and ex-Soviet aircraft have fallen to 31 from an approved strength of 42 at a time when rival China is expanding its air force rapidly. Pakistan has one of China’s most advanced warplanes, the J-10, in its arsenal.

Militaries of nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan faced-off in four days of fighting this month, which saw use of fighter jets, missiles, drones and artillery by both sides before a ceasefire was announced by US President Donald Trump.

It was the first time both sides utilized drones at scale and the South Asian powers are now locked in a drones arms race, according to Reuters’ interviews with 15 people, including security officials, industry executives and analysts in the two countries.

India will partner with a domestic firm for the stealth fighter program, and companies can bid independently or as a joint venture, the defense ministry said in a statement, adding that the bids would be open for both private and state-owned firms.

In March, an Indian defense committee had recommended including the private sector in military aircraft manufacturing to shore up the capabilities of the Indian Air Force and reduce the burden on state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which makes most of India’s military aircraft.

Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh has previously criticized Hindustan Aeronautics for slow delivery of light combat Tejas aircraft, a 4.5 generation fighter, which the firm blamed on slow delivery of engines from General Electric GE.N due to supply chain issues faced by the US firm.

 

Translation

印度在與巴基斯坦關係緊張之際,批准隱形戰鬥機計劃

印度國防部週二表示，國防部長已批准一項建造該國最先進隱形戰鬥機的框架。在與巴基斯坦爆發軍事衝突數週後，印度展開了新一輪軍備競賽。

印度國防部表示，負責執行該計劃的印度國營航空發展局將很快邀請國防企業就該戰機原型機的研發事宜進行初步磋商，該原型機預計將是一款雙引擎第五代戰鬥機。

該項目對印度空軍至關重要。印度空軍主要是個由俄羅斯和前蘇聯飛機組成的中隊, 現已從批准構架的42架飛機減少到31架，同時，其競爭對手中國正在迅速擴充其空軍力量。巴基斯坦擁有中國最先進的戰機之一 - 殲-10。

本月，擁有核武的相鄰國印度和巴基斯坦的軍隊進行了為期四天的對峙，在美國總統特朗普宣佈停火之前，雙方動用了戰鬥機、飛彈、無人機和火砲。

根據路透社對兩國的安全官員、產業高層和分析師等15位人士的採訪，這是雙方首次大規模使用無人機，這兩個南亞大國目前正陷入無人機軍備競賽。

印度國防部在聲明中表示，印度將與國內公司合作進行隱形戰鬥機項目，企業可以獨立投標或以合資企業的形式進行投標。聲明還補充說，投標將向私營企業和國有企業開放。

今年3月，印度國防委員會曾建議將私營部門納入軍用飛機製造領域，以增強印度空軍的作戰能力，並減輕國營 Hindustan Aeronautics 有限公司的負擔,它是印度大部分軍用飛機的製造商。

印度空軍上將 Amar Preet Singh 此前曾批評 Hindustan Aeronautics 交付輕型戰鬥機 Tejas 的速度太慢，它是第四代半戰鬥機, 該公司將此歸咎由於美國公司面臨因供應鏈問題而遲慢交付 General Electric GE.N 的發動機。

So, India has approved a framework for building the country’s most advanced stealth fighter jet amid a new arms race with Pakistan weeks after a military conflict between the two countries. Apparently, India’s air power needs upgrading before another air fight occurs, potentially either with Pakistan or China.

Note:

1. The General Electric GEnx ("General Electric Next-generation") is an advanced dual rotor, axial flow, high-bypass turbofan jet engine in production by GE Aerospace for the Boeing 747-8 and 787. The GEnx succeeds the CF6 in GE's product line. (Wikipedia)