Previous Year Question

There is no single universally binding legal classification of fighter-aircraft generations, but a fifth-generation fighter is generally expected to possess capabilities such as all-aspect stealth, an internal weapons bay, advanced sensor fusion, Active Electronically Scanned Array—AESA radar, network-centric warfare, a low radar cross-section and high situational awareness.

The Rafale is not a fifth-generation aircraft. It is a French twin-engine, delta-wing, omnirole fighter aircraft generally classified as a 4.5-generation fighter. It can perform air-superiority, deep-strike, reconnaissance, nuclear-deterrence and maritime-strike missions.

The Rafale possesses modern capabilities such as an AESA radar, the SPECTRA electronic-warfare suite, a reduced radar signature and advanced data fusion. However, it does not possess a fully stealth-oriented airframe and an internal weapons bay for carrying all weapons like fifth-generation fighters.

The MiG-29 is not a fifth-generation aircraft. It is a twin-engine, fourth-generation air-superiority fighter developed in the Soviet Union. It was primarily designed for short-range and medium-range aerial combat. Its upgraded variants possess modern radars, avionics and weapons, but the basic platform is not a stealth-based fifth-generation design.

The Tejas MK-1 is also not a fifth-generation aircraft. It is India’s indigenous, single-engine, lightweight multirole fighter and is classified as a fourth-generation aircraft. It possesses capabilities such as composite materials, a fly-by-wire flight-control system, a glass cockpit and modern weapons integration.

India’s fifth-generation fighter programme is the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft—AMCA, which is proposed to possess capabilities such as stealth shaping, an internal weapons bay and advanced sensor fusion. Therefore, none of the three given aircraft is a fifth-generation fighter.