The other significant French track for India is propulsion. Safran and DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment are working towards a joint high-thrust engine for the AMCA Mk2, with technology transfer at the centre of the proposed arrangement. The proposal is awaiting government approval.
For India, this could address one of the most persistent gaps in its indigenous fighter programme. The AMCA engine project would focus on developing domestic capability in high-thrust propulsion, while potential participation in FCAS would provide an avenue into the wider technology ecosystem of next-generation combat aviation.
The two tracks therefore operate on different timelines but could contribute to the same longer-term objective of building an indigenous combat-aircraft capability.
What does India stand to gain and on what terms?
Sixth-generation aircraft are being conceived not as standalone fighters but as part of a wider “system of systems”, linking crewed platforms with unmanned aircraft, sensors and command networks. Their development encompasses low-observable design, advanced sensing, electronic warfare, artificial intelligence, secure combat-cloud networks, autonomous systems, manned-unmanned teaming and next-generation propulsion.
For India, the critical issue will be the level at which it enters the programme. Participation limited to manufacturing or final assembly would expand domestic production capability, but offer far less access to the technologies that determine the aircraft’s design and future evolution. A role in design, development and key subsystems, by contrast, could provide access to deeper technological capabilities, including design data and greater scope to independently upgrade or develop future variants.
India’s experience with earlier international fighter programmes illustrates the distinction. The Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project, intended to produce an Indian variant of the Su-57, was abandoned in 2018 after differences over workshare, cost, technology access and the aircraft’s capabilities.
The Kaveri engine programme similarly exposed the limitations of developing advanced propulsion without access to critical hot-section technologies, and the engine never became a fighter powerplant.
India’s industrial base is considerably stronger today. Defence production reached a record ?1.78 lakh crore in 2025-26, an increase of 15.6 per cent, with the private sector accounting for about 24 per cent of output, or roughly ?42,000 crore. Defence exports rose to ?38,424 crore during the year, an increase of nearly 63 per cent. The AMCA programme itself reflects the changing industrial model, with private-sector companies being brought into prototype development alongside public-sector entities. Tata Advanced Systems, Larsen & Toubro and Bharat Forge are among those competing for the programme.
The terms of any Indian participation in FCAS will therefore be central to its technological outcome. France has traditionally maintained tight control over its combat-aircraft technologies while retaining considerable autonomy over defence exports. For India, the negotiations are likely to centre on workshare, intellectual-property rights, technology transfer, export permissions and the ability to independently modify, upgrade or develop variants of the aircraft.