India opens fifth-gen fighter race to private sector; three players vie for AMCA project – Firstpost

In a shift for India’s defence manufacturing ecosystem, the government on Wednesday issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme — India’s first indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter jet — opening the door for private sector-led development of cutting-edge combat aviation technology.

The Rs 15,000 crore project marks one of the most ambitious aerospace undertakings in India’s history, with the Centre fully funding the prototype phase. For the first time in a frontline fighter jet programme, state-owned defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has been kept out of the prototype development race, signalling a decisive policy pivot towards private sector-led execution.

Instead, the government has shortlisted three competing private consortia for the programme. These include Tata Advanced Systems Limited, the L&T–BEL–Dynamatics Consortium comprising Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Electronics Limited and Dynamatic Technologies, and the Bharat Forge–BEML–Data Patterns Consortium comprising Bharat Forge, BEML Limited and Data Patterns (India) Limited.

The winning bidder will work in close collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), to design and manufacture five flying prototypes and one structural test airframe.

Greenfield facility in Andhra Pradesh

According to the proposal framework, the prototype development and integration work will be carried out at a new greenfield aerospace facility in Andhra Pradesh, which is expected to serve as a dedicated hub for next-generation fighter jet manufacturing.

Officials indicated that the infrastructure will be designed to support advanced stealth aircraft assembly, systems integration, and flight testing — a capability India has not previously hosted in the private sector.

A shift in India’s defence manufacturing model

The decision to exclude HAL from the prototype phase marks a significant departure from India’s traditional defence procurement architecture, where state-run entities have historically dominated complex aerospace programmes.

Defence officials said the new execution model, approved earlier by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, was designed to ensure competitive participation from both public and private sectors, with bidders allowed to participate independently or through joint ventures and consortia.

While HAL is not part of the prototype development stage, government sources indicated that it may still play a role in large-scale production if the AMCA programme progresses successfully beyond testing.

Push towards Aatmanirbhar aerospace capability

The AMCA programme is being viewed as a cornerstone of India’s push for self-reliance in advanced military technologies under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

The fifth-generation stealth fighter is expected to feature advanced low-observable capabilities, internal weapons bays, sensor fusion, and next-generation avionics, placing it in the same class as some of the world’s most advanced combat aircraft.

Officials said the selection of a private-sector-led execution model is intended to accelerate timelines, deepen domestic industrial capability, and reduce dependence on foreign suppliers for critical defence platforms.

Once the winning consortium is selected, the project will move into prototype development, with the first flight-ready aircraft expected to emerge in the coming years as part of a phased testing programme.

Earlier projections have suggested that AMCA prototypes could be built and flown by the early 2030s, paving the way for induction into the Indian Air Force thereafter, subject to successful trials and certification.