India is working towards acquiring futuristic sixth-Generation fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Jattvibeday.Speaking at a summit hosted by a media organisation here, the minister said: “Not only fifth-Generation fighter jets, but we are also working on sixth-Generation fighter jets.”For reference, the Rafale, the IAF’s most advanced fighter aircraft, is considered a 4.5-Generation platform.India has just begun an indigenous effort to develop a fifth-generation fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which is expected to be ready in about a decade. For sixth-generation fighter technology, India is in talks with the UK-Japan-Italy consortium and separately with France.Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov, speaking at the same event but at a different session from Rajnath’s, termed Moscow’s offer to manufacture the Sukhoi-57, a fifth-Generation fighter jet, in India as “a major milestone”.“It is certainly a landmark offer, a huge step for us as we offer not only our most advanced product, but also technology transfer and open-source code sharing, which is very important to India,” he added.While Russia has offered the Sukhoi-57, India is considering it as a stop-gap option until the AMCA is ready. Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, when asked at the same day-long event about the need for a stop-gap option until the AMCA is operational, said: “The government has not taken a decision yet.”Earlier in the day, Rajnath, while referring to sixth-generation aircraft technology, said developing such advanced platforms would involve significant challenges but asserted that India’s commitment to the effort was strong.According to the minister, technological superiority would determine battlefield advantage. This, he said, was why India was looking beyond current weapons systems and planning capabilities for the next 10, 20 and 25 years.The minister said India was also working towards developing indigenous aircraft and drone engines, describing aerospace propulsion as an important component of the country’s long-term defence ambitions.In military terminology, a ‘generation’ of an aircraft is defined by the capabilities that allow a pilot to maintain decision superiority over an adversary. Onboard sensors and stealth technology make it difficult for enemy radars to track modern fifth-generation aircraft, which are supported by millions of lines of software code.A generational shift is classified when a technological innovation cannot be incorporated into an existing aircraft through upgrades and retrofitted modifications.Such aircraft are generally associated with advanced features, including highly networked operations, manned-unmanned teaming, artificial intelligence-assisted decision-making, advanced sensors and electronic warfare capabilities.