India sixth-generation fighter plans are now turning towards France, with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh saying on Thursday that New Delhi is pursuing discussions with Paris on its programme after Germany's exit from the joint European effort.

India had sought a place in both multinational programmes, the Defence Secretary said in an interview. France now looks the closer fit.

India sixth-generation fighter talks with France under way

"We are veering around to the idea that, now that Germany has left, perhaps the French programme, since we have a large inventory of French aircraft, is something we should examine. We are pursuing discussions with the French, and we'll see how that goes, but we have expressed our interest," he said.

Two such programmes are running. One groups the United Kingdom, Japan and Italy under the Global Combat Air Programme. The other, the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), launched in 2017, brought France together with Germany, which is no longer part of it. India approached both groups because all of them are friendly foreign countries, the Defence Secretary said.

Interest in FCAS conveyed in February

New Delhi first conveyed its interest in FCAS at the 6th India-France Annual Defence Dialogue in Bengaluru in February, according to reports at the time. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held talks there with his French counterpart, Catherine Vautrin, and co-development and co-manufacturing were raised.

The Franco-German partnership was abandoned in June after the two sides could not settle differences over industrial leadership and work share, according to reports. In August, the Ministry of Defence informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence that it had initiated efforts in a concerted manner to join the French-led programme. The committee welcomed the step and sought a status report, a roadmap and a tentative timeline for acquiring a sixth-generation aircraft.

AMCA remains India's only fifth-generation programme

On the fifth-generation question, the Defence Secretary said the government has not taken a decision to go in for any foreign fifth-generation fighter. The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is the programme, a twin-engine stealth fighter in the 25-tonne class.

Requests for Proposals have gone out to shortlisted vendors, who sought more time because of the complexity of the work and because they are entering this space for the first time. The ministry will give them that time, he said. The deadline for development-phase bids was earlier moved to 30 October.

"But my understanding is that this is our programme, and we are putting all our eggs in this basket as of now," he added.

The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is executing AMCA under an industry partnership model approved in May 2025, under which private and public sector firms bid on equal terms, independently, as joint ventures or as consortia. The Larsen and Toubro and Bharat Electronics combine, Tata Advanced Systems, and Bharat Forge with BEML were among the bidders reported in August. The Cabinet Committee on Security cleared AMCA design and development in March 2024, and five prototypes are planned ahead of series production.

Rafale buy-and-make bids under evaluation

The Rafale acquisition has reached the bid evaluation stage. A conclusion in that procurement cycle is expected before the end of this year, the Defence Secretary said.

He described it as a buy-and-make programme, with the bulk of the aircraft to be assembled in India and with Indian systems and weapons integrated into them. France had already agreed to integrate Indian weapons on the 26 Rafale Marine jets contracted for the Navy in April 2025, he said, and this programme goes a step further on indigenisation. Earlier reporting placed the requirement at 114 jets.

LCA Mk2 first flight set for mid-2027

The LCA Mk2 is on course, with its first flight scheduled for the middle of next year. The Indian Air Force will evaluate the prototypes before numbers are settled. Its initial projected requirement was 120 aircraft.

"Let the prototypes come and let the Air Force evaluate them, and thereafter, we will see," the Defence Secretary said.

In July, HAL Chairman and Managing Director Ravi K placed the first prototype's maiden flight between March and July 2027, with the Mk2 meant to replace the Jaguar and Mirage 2000 fleets between 2035 and 2040. He was speaking about engine supply for the Tejas Mk1A at the time.

HAL to lead LCA Mk2 with private industry support

The Defence Secretary said the Mk2 should follow a path of spiral development within the public-sector ecosystem led by HAL. HAL is drawing more on private firms, not only for sub-assemblies but also for larger components, including fuselages. It has brought in a private-sector production line for some of this work. The programme will in all probability stay public-sector-led, he said, with private industry and the MSME sector built into it.