Professor Kota Harinarayana, chief designer of the Indian light fighter program LCA (Tejas), officially confirmed that the promising fifth-generation fighter AMCA will completely replace the heavy Su-30MKI and French Rafale in the Indian Air Force in the future. He unveiled a long-term plan for the transformation of the Indian Air Force by 2047.
According to him, AMCA is designed to consolidate the functions of two disparate platforms – Su-30MKI and Rafale – into a single new-generation Indian aircraft.
The Su-30MKI has been the backbone of our Air Force for over two decades, and the Rafale has significantly enhanced our precision strike capabilities. However, the AMCA will replace their operational roles, offering stealth technologies that neither of these aircraft possesses.
The transition to Indian aircraft will be gradual: modernized Su-30MKI and Rafale will continue to serve until at least the 2050s.
The AMCA prototype is planned to be assembled by 2027, and serial production is expected to begin by 2032. Full-scale deployment of the fighter is anticipated in the middle of the next decade.