Source : IgMp Bureau

Representative Image

In the domain of defense, the technology disruptors will be fueling future development and the countries are in a race to have the upper edge on technologies. The aircraft technologies have evolved from 3rd Generation to 5th and work has started on the 6th generation fighter jet with improved propulsion, stealth characteristics, direct energy weapon, and ability to operate without a pilot i.e. completely unmanned.

Turkey has also started working on Kizilelma, which is a very different category of UCAV – described as unmanned fighter aircraft. It will be supersonic at a later stage having a high degree of stealth characteristics tailored for different missions along with manned fighter jets.

How much India has progressed in this area of the Futuristic Unmanned Fighters domain?

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SWiFT – Technology incubator for FUFA

DRDO has gained significant know-how from the Rustom program and its learning has translated into various programs such as Tapas, Archer, Archer-NG, and to some extent SWiFT. The tech being developed for these UAVs will drive the development of FUFA or Futuristic Unmanned Fighter Aircraft.

A representative image of Futuristic Unmanned Fighter Aircraft (FUFA)

Interestingly, the seed for FUFA has already been sown and has taken its first flight as well. It is none other than SWiFT (Stealth Wing Flying Testbed) program. This information was recently revealed by DRDO.

DRDO developed Stealth Wing Flying Testbed (SWiFT) UCAV

The FUFAwill have an all-up weight of 10 tons that will incorporate the use of composite materials and stealth coatings to reduce its radar cross-section it will also feature an internal weapons bay to carry both air-to-ground precision-guided missiles and air-to-air missiles to take out aerial targets.

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SWiFT UCAV program information poster shared by DRDO at Aero India 2023

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