India’s flight to 5th

Post Operation Sindoor, India and Pakistan are locked in a race to ‘upgrade’ their military arsenal. Notably, both are looking to acquire a fifth-generation fighter jet — defined as stealthy, with an ability to carry out long-range strikes and backed by technology like high-definition data links. Both the nuclear-armed rivals have made their choices to acquire this technology. Pakistan, thanks to its ally China, is slightly ahead and could acquire an operational fifth-generation jet by the end of this year. Last month, the two sides signed an “initial collaborative agreement” for acquisition of the fifth-generation Shenyang J-35 stealth fighter. The…