Stealth fighter prototype to fly in 2029: DRDO chief

Hindustan Times

3 days ago

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief Samir V Kamat on Thursday said the first prototype of a stealth fighter being developed by India will make its maiden flight in 2029.
'The development of AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) will be completed by 2034 and it will go into production a year later,' he told reporters on the sidelines of a Confederation of Indian Industry event.
His comments came two days after India unveiled its long-awaited plan to fast-track the development of AMCA --- an indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter, and announced that the execution model will be competitive and provide equal opportunities to public and private sector firms to participate in the project.
The approval of the industry partnership model by defence minister Rajnath Singh came at a critical moment as state-run plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) --- the sole manufacturer of fighter jets in the country --- was so far believed to be the front-runner for the project.
On Thursday, Singh said the AMCA execution model was a 'bold and decisive step' that will take the domestic aerospace sector to newer heights. 'Under the AMCA project, the plan is to develop five prototypes, which will be followed by series production. It is a key milepost in the history of the Make-in-India programme,' Singh said at the CII event.
The DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will execute the programme through industry partnership.
The model unlocks new possibilities for the local aerospace industry, including firms such as Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Defence and Aerospace and the Mahindra Group. To be sure, HAL is still a strong contender for the project.
This could become the private sector's finest hour, chief of the air staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh said at the same event.
'If today somebody is manufacturing world-class cars, electronics, and equipment in the civil sector, why can't some of those industries come together and say, 'We will make world-class military equipment even if it doesn't give me the profit I am looking for.' Let's rise together to make this nation a great nation,' he said.
Speeding up the AMCA programme is critical as China has already deployed the J-20 fifth-generation fighters, it is rolling out the J-35 stealth fighters that Pakistan is looking at buying, and it has tested two so-called sixth-generation platforms designated J-36 and J-50.
Last year, the PM-headed Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the AMCA's design and prototype development at a cost of around ₹15,000 crore.
This involves the design and development of five twin-engine AMCA prototypes. The IAF's modernisation map envisages the deployment of around 120 stealth fighters (six squadrons) 2035 onwards, with the advanced planes forming an important element of future air combat.