Flight Mode: Govt Seeks CCS Nod for Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft—An Indigenous 5th-Gen Stealth Jet

Minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt told the Rajya Sabha on March 14 that the union government has started the process of obtaining approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for the design and prototype development of India’s homegrown fifth-generation fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The minister explained that because of the unique features, fifth-generation fighter aircraft are more expensive than fourth-generation ones. But, according to him, since the AMCA is an indigenous fifth-generation aircraft, it is less expensive than comparable fighters available elsewhere.

The cost

Officials with knowledge about the plan stated that the design, development, and first prototypes of the AMCA might cost more than Rs 15,000 crore.

From 2032 onwards, the Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to deploy roughly 120 stealth fighters (six squadrons), with stealth jets playing an increasingly vital role in future air combat.

Taking off

According to reports from early March, in collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the state-owned aerospace and defence corporation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has begun producing the AMCA and, with the start of production activity, the programme entered a critical phase.

While HAL and ADA will handle the design and development, commercial defence companies will be involved in the production of the combat jet, according to reports.

The advanced stealth jet is expected to be a multirole fighter capable of air dominance, ground strike, enemy air defence suppression and electronic warfare tasks.

The first two squadrons in the AMCA Mark 1 configuration will be powered by an imported engine, while the remaining five squadrons with advanced features (Mark 2) will be driven by 125-kilonewton engines built in India and equipped with sixth-generation technologies.

It’s worth noting that the new fighter’s engine will be co-developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Safran of France.

The new aircraft will also have three-dimensional thrust vectoring and an internal weapons bay to enhance the aircraft’s stealth capabilities.

The AMCA has a top speed of almost 2,600 kilometres per hour (Mach 2.15), as well as a combat range of 1,620 kilometres. In the non-stealth form, the fighter will be equipped with a 23 mm cannon and 14 hardpoints to carry weaponry weighing 6,500 kilograms.

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