India’s fifth -generation fifth -generation fighter jet’s advanced medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) on Tuesday hit a new milestone with Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, approving his program execution model: The state -owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will have to be made free to contract for the construction of the state -owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
This is a deviation from the past when such projects will be directly handed over to HAL for manufacturing, without it it will have to compete with others to bag.
The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) – the agency that will design the aircraft – is determined to execute the program through industry partnership under the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO). A statement by the Ministry of Defense states that it will soon release an expression of interest for the AMCA development phase.
In a significant push towards India’s indigenous defense capabilities and promoting a strong domestic aerospace industrial ecosystem, the Minister of Promotion Shri @rajnathsingh Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program has approved the execution model. Aeronautical… pic.twitter.com/28Jey123m5
– Ratnata Afs, RMO India (@DefenceminIndia) 27 May, 2025
According to the Ministry, the execution model approach provides equal opportunities on competitive basis to both private and public sectors. It states that they can either bid either independently or as a joint venture or as a consortia and the unit/bidder should be an Indian company to suit the country’s laws and rules.
The ministry said that it was an important step towards exploiting indigenous expertise, capacity and capacity to develop AMCA prototypes, which would be a major milestone towards self -reliance (self -sufficiency) in the aerospace area.
The development comes amidst tension with Pakistan and the immediate subsequent subsequent stress of Operation Sindoor, which has seen a significant participation of a range of fighter jets of the Indian Air Force and a series of air-launched weapons.
While Pakistan Chinese is acquiring fifth generation fighter jet J -35A, China has conducted testing flights of the sixth generation fighter prototypes -J -36 and J -50 -Series have been developed by Chinese Chengdu aircraft corporation and Sheenyang Aircraft Corporation.
The new milestone comes after a year when the Cabinet Committee on security approved the project to design and develop AMCA.
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The AMCA will be a 25-ton twin-engine aircraft with advanced stealth features-which means that it can avoid detection by enemy radar. This means that the aircraft will emit a low electromagnetic signature that will not be able to detect the enemy radar, but at the same time there are advanced sensors and weapons to detect and carry down enemy aircraft.
The aircraft will have a large internal fuel tank – which can carry 6.5 tons of fuel, but will remain hidden. It will also have an internal weapon bay for many weapons – including indigenous – which will be buried in her stomach.
So far, the cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 15,000 crore.
AMCA MK1 will fly on the current 90kn class engine (US to GE414 engine) and AMCA MK2 will be operated by a strong engine of 110KN to be indigenously developed by DRDO’s gas turbine research establishment in collaboration with a foreign defense head.
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Officials told earlier The Indian Express The ADA expected the first flight of the aircraft within five years after the cabinet approval.
The total duration of the aircraft development is expected to be around 10 years from now. Before the construction of the jet, there were plans to manufacture five prototypes of the aircraft.
The aircraft will bring India to a select league countries, with its fifth generation fighter aircraft- America (F -22 Rapter and F -35A Lightning II), China (J -20 Miti Dragon), and Russia (Sukhoi SU -57).
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