The Defence Ministry on Wednesday put out a a 'Request for Proposal' regarding its mega indigenous fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project to three shortlisted bidders, as per defence officials's statements cited by ANI. The bidders include Larsen and Toubro-Bharat Electronics Ltd., Tata Advanced Systems and Bharat Forge-BEML Ltd.
According to previous reports, the technical and legal aspects of the deal had been settled and Tata Advanced Systems Limited, L&T and Bharat Forge were set to receive tenders by the end of May.
The fifth-generation fighter jet is anticipated to possess stealth proficiencies, AI-integration, long-range targeting systems, as well as the ability to work side-by-side with unmanned aerial platforms.
The company that wins the bid will partner with the Aeronautical Development Agency to make five AMCA prototypes at a new testing facility being developed in Andhra Pradesh. The facility is likely to to be functional within the span of a year, with a target to fly the prototypes by 2032.
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The Defence Ministry has set an indicative budget outlay of Rs 15,000 crore for the protoype stage of the AMCA programme. Once the fifth generation AMCA is developed and tested, the Indian Air Force will likely put forward a more sizeable order for up to 120 jets in the first phase, with deliveries expected to commence by 2035.
The Ministry of Defence also successfully test-launched the short-range ballistic missile Agni-1 missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur in Odisha, marking another validation of the country's strategic deterrence capabilities.
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