We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

Key Points: The F-21 is a proposed advanced 4th generation++ fighter developed by Lockheed Martin in collaboration with India’s Tata Advanced Systems.

-Designed specifically for the Indian Air Force, it combines F-16 capabilities with cutting-edge upgrades like AESA radar, conformal fuel tanks, advanced electronic warfare systems, and greater weapons capacity.

-While priced at $18 billion for 100 aircraft, the F-21 could strengthen India’s defense against regional threats like Pakistan and China, reduce dependence on Russian equipment, and bolster India’s domestic aerospace industry.

-The program could also deepen U.S.-India defense ties, though its high cost poses a challenge for India’s military budget.

F-21 Fighter: India’s Next Big Move Against China and Pakistan?

You probably haven’t heard much about the F-21 fighter. This is a proposed F-16-like beast developed specifically for the Indian air force by Lockheed Martin. The Indians have added their own goodies to the fighter that will help friendly forces take the fight to Pakistan or China should the Indians ever enter into a shooting conflict with those countries. India’s defense contractor Tata Advanced Systems has provided new features that make this fighter into a F-16 on steroids for Delhi.

He Who Dares Wins: Meet the F-21

The F-21 is a hot rod that is armed to the teeth. The weapons capacity is top-notch. There is a Triple Missile Launch Adapter which gives it 40 percent greater fire-power than a regular F-16. This means more air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface ordnance.

Modern Radar Scopes Out the Bad Guys

The AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar gives the F-21 added situational awareness. This means sniffing out more targets with greater precision.

Lockheed Martin F-21. Image: Lockheed Martin.

The AESA has twice the range of regular mechanically scanned array radars. Long-range IRST (infrared search and track) gives the pilot “one shoot – one kill” accuracy.

Range Is Not a Problem

To increase range the conformal fuel tanks to supply the gas to powerful GE engines that have better reliability and ease of maintenance. The F-21 can fly for 12,000 hours without a tune-up.

Electronic Warfare Lends to Greater Survivability

If electronic warfare is your thing, the F-21 does not disappoint. There is a full-fledged EW suite to better jam enemy incoming missiles or to foil snooping radar.

Pilots Will Love It

This warbird is pilot-friendly. Lockheed Martin says that the F-21 offers a “Large Area Display leveraging 5th Generation technologies enabling greater battle space awareness and network operations.”

With all of these new technologies, the F-21 is considered a 4th generation ++ fighter.

It Comes With a Significant Price Tag

Now the problem with all of these accoutrements and upgrades, Lockheed Martin, before the firm builds these in numbers, is asking for a high price. This would require the Indians to invest $18 billion for 100 F-21s. That figures out to be $180 million per fighter. At that unit price, the government in Delhi could buy two F-35s, even though the Indian military is not interested in the F-35 at this time. However, the F-21 would not create jobs for the indigenous India aerospace industry.

Pakistan and China Need to Watch Out

The F-21 also gives the Indian defense industrial base a chance to shine on its own instead of having to depend on the Russian defense industry for its military hardware.

The threat environment that the Indians face is also heating up. Pakistan is India’s most existential threat. Both countries have nuclear- weapons and it is unclear if the F-21 can carry nuclear bombs, but the 4th generation ++ fighter would still give the Indian air force a leg up over the Pakistani air force. The next threat is China. While not a sworn enemy the Chinese are always liable to encroach on Indian territory or fly over the Air Defense Identification Zone. So, India needs an air superiority interceptor for these contingencies.

Better Relations Between the United States and India

The joint program between Lockheed and Tata also cements ties between the United States and India. American presidents in the last two decades have worked with India closely to improve relations and defense partnerships. Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden have all led major initiatives to keep the Indians in the American orbit. The F-21 would be a project that both countries could sink their teeth into and improve military interoperability. Russia had been responsible for about two-thirds of Indian military equipment in the past. The Americans want to change this situation.

Can India Become an Advanced Manufacturing Hub?

However, as a software powerhouse, India is not known for advanced manufacturing. Here is where Lockheed steps into show the Indians that they too can succeed in the aerospace business to help make an advanced fighter and create jobs for their citizens.

So, with all of these advantages, it would be prudent for India to shell out the extra money and fully buy into the F-21. The joint program would reduce the dependence on Russia, alarm the Pakistanis, and match up better with China. The F-21 will be expensive, but it will be a shot in the arm to the Indian defense industrial base which is struggling to modernize in the 21st century. It will be interesting to see if this program can produce 100 new fighters for India.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.