The Ministry of Defense on Wednesday issued a request for proposals (RFPs) to three shortlisted bidders to develop and produce five Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) prototypes at an estimated cost. $15,000 crore, paving the way for setting up a second fighter aircraft production facility in India alongside Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
The three shortlisted bidders are: Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL); Larsen & Toubro as well as Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Forge as well as Bharat Earth Movers Limited. Powered by an American GE-414 engine, the AMCA will be produced under the design and expertise of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the DRDO. While the first prototype of the AMCA fighter is expected by early 2027, the first flight of the fifth-generation multi-role fighter will take place between 2028-2029. Serial production of the fighter is scheduled for the mid-2030s with new versions of the fighter equipped with 120-kilometre French Safran engines made in India.
This month, the foundation stone for the city was laid $The Rs 15,803-crore integration and flight test complex at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh with the Cabinet Committee on Security giving the green signal for the development of the five prototypes. Featuring high-speed vehicles, weapons bays and advanced artificial intelligence, the AMCA will compete with stealth fighter aircraft such as the American F-35, Chinese J 20, and Russian Su-57 fighters in the near future. The fighter will eventually replace the Su-30 MKI fighters and will feature Astra long-range air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, laser-guided bombs and glide bombs with high-quality radar and sensors to avoid detection by enemy air defense systems.
While the Indian Air Force (IAF) has proposed to acquire two squadrons of Russian SU-57s through the ‘Make in India’ route, the government is yet to take a decision on the IAF’s requirements. As it stands, the stealth capabilities of fifth-generation fighters have been called into question with Iran’s aging air defense taking out a US F35 with a heat-seeking missile during the ongoing West Asia war.
Given the current geopolitics where every country protects its own interests, it is important for the Indian private sector to demonstrate its value by producing a fifth generation fighter out of HAL facilities. Meanwhile, India has begun cost negotiations with the French company Dassault to purchase 114 fighters in India, and then produce them, in order to ensure that the strength levels of the Indian Air Force do not decline. The four-day Operation Sindoor on 7 May 2025 demonstrated that the days of combat tanks and infantry were over with aircraft being used to fire long-range missiles and bombs at the enemy at great distances.
