India on Tuesday unveiled its long-awaited plan to fast-track the development of an indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter, or the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA), announcing that the execution model will be competitive and provide equal opportunities to public and private sector firms to participate in one of the country’s most significant military projects.
The approval of the industry partnership model by defence minister Rajnath Singh comes at a critical moment as state-run plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) — the sole manufacturer of fighter jets in the country — was so far believed to be the front-runner for the prestigious project.
Singh’s approval comes weeks after the May 7-10 military confrontation with Pakistan under Operation Sindoor — India’s muscular military response to the Pahalgam terror strike. The four-day clash put the spotlight on the Indian Air Force’s deep strike capabilities and the role of locally produced weapons and systems.
It also led the government to reaffirm its commitment to equip the three services with the latest weapons and platforms — a stealth fighter has been on the IAF’s wish list for long.
The model unlocks new possibilities for the local aerospace industry, including firms such as Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Defence and Aerospace and the Mahindra Group, people aware of the matter said. HAL is still a strong contender for the project, they added, asking not to be named.
The defence ministry explained how the project will unfold.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will execute the programme through industry partnership, it said.
“The model provides equal opportunities to both private and public sectors on a competitive basis. They can bid either independently or as joint venture or as consortia. The entity/bidder should be an Indian company compliant with the laws and regulations of the country,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry described it as an important step for harnessing the indigenous expertise, capability and capacity to develop the AMCA prototype, a self-reliance milestone in the aerospace sector.
Speeding up the AMCA programme is critical as China has already deployed the J-20 fifth-generation fighters, it is rolling out the J-35 stealth fighters that Pakistan is looking at buying, and it has tested two so-called sixth-generation platforms designated J-36 and J-50, the people said.
Sixth-generation technologies are more advanced than those in any fighter jet currently in service globally.
The defence ministry said the AMCA’s execution model was “a significant push towards enhancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities and fostering a robust domestic aerospace industrial ecosystem.”
Last year, the PM-headed Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the AMCA’s design and prototype development at a cost of around ₹15,000 crore.
ADA will soon invite expressions of interest in the AMCA development phase, the defence ministry said. This is a watershed in India’s defence production history as it marks the possible entry of the private sector in fighter aircraft manufacturing.
This involves the design and development of five twin-engine AMCA prototypes, with the stealth fighter likely to go into production only after a decade. The IAF’s modernisation map envisages the deployment of around 120 stealth fighters (six squadrons) 2035 onwards, with the advanced planes forming an important element of future air combat, officials aware of the matter said.
India is firmly pushing ahead with the AMCA programme even though both the United States and Russia have offered New Delhi their fifth-generation fighters.
In February, US President Donald Trump said America is paving the way to provide India the F-35 stealth fighters. Earlier this year, Russia offered to jointly produce its Su-57 stealth fighter in the country.
“Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We are also paving the way to ultimately provide F-35 stealth fighters,” Trump said at the time.
The AMCA is expected to be developed in two phases, the officials said.
The first two squadrons will consist of the Mk-1 version of AMCA powered by the American F-414 engines, while the remaining four squadrons will have the more advanced Mk-2 version equipped with an even more powerful engine to be built in India with foreign collaboration.
The 25-tonne AMCA will be a swing-role fighter with stealth features to increase survivability in combat, advanced avionics, smart weapons stored internally, top-end mission computers, 360-degree situational awareness, and super-cruise capability that will allow it to fly at supersonic speeds for extended periods without kicking in fuel-guzzling afterburners.
India was earlier planning to co-develop a stealth fighter with Russia, but the proposed fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) project was abandoned after IAF expressed strong reservations over high cost and limited technology transfer.