India Allows Private Firms To Work On 5th Gen Stealth Fighter Jet Project

In a bid to boost India’s self-reliance in defence, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday approved the execution model for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft Programme. This initiative aims to leverage indigenous expertise and industrial capacity to develop the AMCA prototype.

According to a press release issued by the Defence Ministry, the combat aircraft for the Indian armed forces will be developed in collaboration with Indian industry partners. The Aeronautical Development Agency, an arm of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, will lead the programme, under which both public and private sector companies will be able to bid independently, as joint ventures, or as consortia on a competitive basis, the ministry said.

“In a significant push towards enhancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities and fostering a robust domestic aerospace industrial ecosystem, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme Execution Model. The Aeronautical Development Agency is set to execute the programme through industry partnership,” the office of the Defence Minister said in a post on X.

The approval marks a crucial step towards realising India’s goal of designing and producing its own fleet of fifth generation combat aircraft.

While the programme aims to offer equal opportunities to both public and private companies, the communique makes it clear that the “entity or bidder should be an Indian company compliant with the laws and regulations of the country.”

More details on the bidding process will be unveiled by the ADA soon. The agency will invite companies to show their interest in participating in the AMCA development phase. 

ADA will shortly issue an Expression of Interest for the AMCA Development Phase, the Defence Ministry release mentioned.

AMCA is India’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter aircraft. In March, the government approved the proposal to design and manufacture these fighter jets.

At present, there are only four operational fifth-generation fighters in the world. This includes the F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II of the United States. On the other hand, Russia has the Su-57, while China has the J-20. Stealth technology is a key factor for the success of these aircraft as it focuses on reducing detection of military assets by radar, infrared and sonar.