Public sentiment towards India's military modernization plans shows a split reaction; while there is pride in the government's efforts and a sense of optimism about strengthening defense capabilities, there is also significant criticism regarding the timeline and pace of development. Many comments express skepticism and urgency for immediate action due to perceived delays and the need to catch up with competitors like China.

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First is to estimate when a new jet will arrive. Lets say 2035 but there are risks of delays.

Pakistan could have hundreads of J-35 by 2035 and I would say India's current fleet would lose against that even with a hundred gripens. China would have maybe 1000 J-20 and 200 J-36/J-50 by 2035 outclass India like US outclass Iraq/Iran.

Suspicious_Loads

Their indigenous programs  will never be ready. You need to develop your industry step by step.India simply has a meaningless target they will never reach.

homsei

I don't think it will make any difference to the current situation. What war will India be fighting? Even India doesn't know. Pakistan? Not for the foreseeable future. China? Does it even make a dent?

leeyiankun

[deleted]

I think the issue is not India stuck with outdated fighters, the main problem is when will be India indigenous program be ready if ever.

Low_M_H

IMHO India can get by using weakass fighters if for the fact that nobody is going to hit India realistically - the Chinese is busy dealing with the USA, while Russia isn't going to attack India in the first place.

The issue is that, looking at China, the reason why India is going absolutely nowhere with their planes is hardly an issue of not using their funding correctly so much as severe corruption and being simply unserious in it.

TenshouYoku

Don't just focus on  fighters. Have a look at Aew&amp;c, air refueling aircrafts, transport aircrafts. Especially AEW&amp;C, Indian indigenous ones were so bad that it failed to meet 8 different requirements and DRDO refused to even address some of the requirements. There were 3 air frames were ordered but IAF only took 2 in service and refused to take the delivery of the third one, somehow DRDO is still looking how to turn a air refueling aircraft. failhttps://m.economictimes.com/news/defence/cag-blows-holes-in-drdos-early-warning-planes/articleshow/65316539.cms https://www.livefistdefence.com/indian-air-force-wants-home-grown-awacs-to-double-as-tanker

Julian3333333

Rafale M is not a rumor and it has nothing to do with the Indian Air Force. It will be part of the Indian Navy . A navalized tejas does not meet naval requirement,  being short on power/payload.  Productionizing it will take years and still not meet the need. The point of a carrier group is air power. Your proposal here is a no go. Forcing the two carriers to get by on limited /partial mig29k numbers and leaving them in jeopardy , underutilized thereafter. 

&gt; savings from the planes

The GoI does not allocate funds for future programs. So there are no 'savings' on non allocated funds . There is zero money for acquiring IAF Rafales, the need has not even been accepted. Transferring zero to indigenous program gets you ... zero.  Rafale M budget goes to IN, not IAF, you can't transfer it.

 When the ccs approves funds for an accepted program of need for a phase, they then proceed to contract. Legal penalties may apply for contract breaking

Just putting funds does not accelerate programs much, including especially engines . These are multi decade programs already

Devastating the iaf for drcades is generally speaking not a wise path

barath_s

India might be able to "coast by" for the most part with outdated weapon systems if they're willing to accept the risk of a more likely outcome of potential loss in their geopolitical/regional goals ... 

The main problem with India's fighter jet programs is that their own defense contractors aren't subjected to any competitive forces which has started plaguing Russia to some extent as of late. The countries that often have the best implementations military aerospace technology will have contractors either playing against each other or in the case of India's biggest adversary will have their state-owned defense sector create internally competitive forces to extract the best results from this rivalry ...

MadOwlGuru

You assume India have or will soon have the capacity to build a domestic competitive fighter. The root of the problem is the failure or unwillingness to acknowledge it's current development status and the maturity of it's industry as a whole making them reach for unrealistic pie in the sky targets. 

[https://www.deccanherald.com/india/indias-first-home-grown-basic-trainer-aircraft-htt-40-expected-to-be-delivered-to-iaf-by-september-3399037](https://www.deccanherald.com/india/indias-first-home-grown-basic-trainer-aircraft-htt-40-expected-to-be-delivered-to-iaf-by-september-3399037)

When you are about to soon deliver your first domestic basic trainer but still talk about Gen 5+ AMCA as it's just around the corner you have a problem with self perception.

The way forward is not an easy choice, there will be nothing domestic built before 2040 that can even put a dent in the air superiority gap with China but even if India sucked up to the U.S and bought the F-35 you would need hundreds of them, with current orders and wait lines that will not happened before 2040 either.

Ok-Lead3599

How do you think about this question now?

u/leeyiankun u/Somizulfi u/TenshouYoku 

u/teethgrindingaches Pakistan seems to have money for PL-15 atleast.  
[https://imgur.com/EvhuWQE](https://imgur.com/EvhuWQE)  
[https://imgur.com/jV2dpEp](https://imgur.com/jV2dpEp)

This means that India may not be able to cope with any geopolitical challenges in the next two decades. It sounds terrifying, but even if you buy Refale, it doesn't make much difference. Although the purchase of Rafale is better than nothing, it will not enable India to have the ability to deal with China or overwhelm Pakistan, nor the absence of it will make India vulnerable to any invasion.

The best strategy is to develop the AMCA as soon as possible (I am pessimistic about this), the less better strategy is to purchase 100 F-35s, and the last strategy is to advance the Tejas fighter project but purchase only in small quantities (because Tejas is basically barely better than Mig-21). The worst I can imagine is Refale.

JonDoe_297JonDoe_297

1. Don’t be so easily swayed by US overtures - they will use India to bring down China and then ultimately turn to dismantle India

2. Rapprochement with China (including all those ludicrous border claims after letting British imperialism get to their heads), sign a raft of treaties (economic, but military if possible as well), take an equal role in leading BRICS and the Global South

3. Have 3 squadrons of J-35A by 2030. Maybe even some J-35s for the Indian Navy. With any luck, throw in some ToT and local production.

4. Enquire about the J-20, J-50/XDS and maybe even J-36 in 2032

5. Start AMCA LRIP in 2035, using help from CAC or SAC - or just continue to build J-35s under licence.

Delicious_Lab_8304

US should sell F-35s to India by the boat load

edgygothteen69

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When US failed to act on intelligence (Benghazi), there was a massive investigation and this even prevented Hillary from winning.

What is the consequence in India? Pulwama also we had intelligence, Phalgham also we had intelligence. We failed to act.

_rth_

This is nothing compared to the recent helicopter crash by a female pilot 67 people dead. One of the worst crashes in the last 20 years 

She ignored her co pilot because he was mansplaining to her 😆. And crashed the heli into a passenger plane.
DEI hire lol

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/03/nx-s1-5385802/dca-army-black-hawk-helicopter-airlines-abort-landings

Gla55_cannon

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Conspiracy theories are nuts are out of control. Next please tell us why this is all the USA and its military industry working in the shadows to push India to war or Iran intelligence working to distract the world from its nuclear program or Israel working to distract the world from Gaza or xxxx working against India.

wocaky

If you keep relying on countries to bail you out you are going to keep going downhill. Look at their economy and how far it has fallen first it was dependence on US and now China. Loosing planes would happen in a war situation. Have trust in our foreign policies and defense forces. Also we are all jumping into conclusions all too soon. Need to wait for things to settle down.

Professional_Ad_975

brofistzerodeaths

I hope it´s true but it´s not....jeet delusion LOL the worlsd would be much better and cleaner without subbies

Artistic-Leader4487

Is this why MD hinted that the Army is not only buying Brahmos for their Missile Project?

AndrewDGreat

What are the exact limitation set against us as a signatory state of the missile technology control regime?

skywalktoMars

Magagalit nanaman yung mga kumag. Sasabihing provoking China + Being American pawn nanaman kapag kumuha tayo ng mga ballistic missiles sa India 😆 😆

JohnnyBorzAWM0413

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Paramoth

Apparently, technology transfer is one of the factors in this project. If successful, the Philippines could produce it here and extend its range beyond the 290km, bypassing the MTCR limitations. (Could be extended to reach the mainland)
India is open to such a deal, unlike the koreans and Israelis as per MDP

Marko_1010

India has unveiled its 15-Year Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap focused on enhancing nuclear deterrence and drone warfare capabilities.

India's Military Modernization Plans

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

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What the people want