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Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
How India is gearing up to clip the wings of Pakistan's 'made-in-China' 5th-gen fighter jet threat
India is accelerating the development of its Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) stealth fighter, opening the project to private companies due to delays and fighter jet shortages. This move aims to counter China's stealth capabilities and address the IAF's need for advanced aircraft. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Why stealth fighters are urgent Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads What about the F-35 offer? Private players now in the game Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Why the IAF chief criticised HAL Around three weeks after a tense military face-off with Pakistan, India has fast-tracked the development of its fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).In a significant shift, the government has opened up the AMCA project to private Indian companies, breaking the long-standing norm that only state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) could manufacture fighter currently lacks any stealth aircraft, while China's radar-evading J-20 jets are already operational and its sixth-generation J-36 is under development. According to claims in Pakistan's local media, the country may acquire up to 40 J-35 stealth jets from China as early as Indian Air Force (IAF) is facing a fighter jet shortage. It has just 31 squadrons, far below the sanctioned strength of 42. The delayed replacement of ageing MiG-21s with Tejas aircraft has only worsened the with the addition of 36 Rafale jets from France, India trails its neighbours. In case of a two-front conflict, stealth jets will be key to striking deep into enemy territory without being push for AMCA also gained urgency after US President Donald Trump said the US may offer India its F-35 stealth jets, among the most advanced with each F-35 costing Rs 660–825 crore (USD 80–100 million), India sees AMCA as a more cost-effective and strategic alternative if the timeline is Minister Rajnath Singh approved the AMCA prototype on 27 May, calling it a major step toward defence is already busy with several major orders. It's producing 180 Tejas Mark-1A jets in a Rs 1.2 lakh crore deal and is lined up to build 108 Tejas Mark-2 jets and other ease the load, the Defence Ministry hopes HAL will collaborate with private firms for AMCA. But for the first time, private players will also be allowed to bid independently, jointly with other Indian firms, or with foreign companies, provided they meet defence Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which is designing AMCA under DRDO, will soon invite these companies to submit private sector is already expanding its role. Tata Group, for instance, is building C-295 aircraft with Airbus in Gujarat and setting up India's first private helicopter assembly line in this year, IAF Chief Air Marshal AP Singh strongly criticised HAL for delays in the Tejas programme.'Tejas was conceptualised in 1984, its first flight took place in 2001, and induction began only in 2016. Even today, in 2025, I don't have the first 40 aircraft,' he said at a Delhi defence the IAF operates just two squadrons of Tejas Mark-1 jets. The upgraded Mark-1A version has also been delayed. HAL had committed to deliver 16 jets in 2024–25 under a Rs 46,898 crore contract signed in 2021. Now, only 2–3 are expected this year, mainly because GE (USA) delayed engine has now promised to deliver 99 F404 engines by March 2025. HAL and GE are also finalising a Rs 8,300 crore (USD 1 billion) deal to co-produce the more powerful F414 engines in India with 80% technology transfer. These will be used for Tejas setbacks, the Indian government has placed a fresh order for 97 more Tejas Mark-1A fighters worth Rs 67,000 from TOI
Deccan Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Deccan Herald
Five prototypes of AMCA to be developed before series production: Rajnath
New Delhi: India plans to develop five prototypes of the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet -- the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) -- before undertaking its series Minister Rajnath Singh confirmed this on Thursday.."Under the AMCA project, the plan is to develop five prototypes, which will be followed by series production," he is not far when people in PoK will return to India voluntarily: Rajnath."It is a key milepost in the history of the Make-in-India programme," he defence minister made the remarks while delivering a lecture at the CII Business defence ministry has cleared the "execution model" to design and produce the stealth fighter jet by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in partnership with private has been working on the ambitious AMCA project to develop the medium weight deep penetration fighter jet with advanced stealth features to bolster its air power along with the Tejas light combat aircraft are planned to be the mainstays of the Indian Air Force.."Make-in-India is an essential component in our national security and it played a key role in India's effective action against terrorism during Operation Sindoor," Singh defence minister emphasised that through the AMCA "execution model", the private sector will get an opportunity to participate in a mega defence project along with public sector companies for the first Cabinet Committee on Security led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given in-principle approval to the fighter jet programme last initial development cost of the project has been estimated at around Rs 15,000 Indian Air Force (IAF) has been pushing for the AMCA project in view of its long-term confidence in the development of the AMCA saw a significant jump after the development of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) by state-run aerospace behemoth HAL, the Tejas aircraft is a potent platform for air combat and offensive air support missions while reconnaissance and anti-ship operations are its secondary IAF, at present, does not have a fifth-generation fighter already has Chengdu J-20 jets that it claimed to be a fifth-generation air superiority fighter with precision strike IAF is also in the process of procuring 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA)..In April 2019, the IAF issued an RFI (Request for Information), or initial tender, to acquire 114 jets at a cost of around USD 18 billion. It was billed as one of the world's biggest military procurement programmes in recent years.
News18
6 days ago
- Business
- News18
IAF Chief Flags Delays In Defence Procurement Process: 'Contracts Signed Despite Knowing...'
Last Updated: Terming that timeline is a big issue, Singh said while signing the contract itself, the forces sometimes know it is not going to come up on time, but still we sign the contract. Emphasising the need to expedite the defence procurement process, Air Force Chief AP Singh on Thursday urged the industry not to make promises if it cannot deliver on time. Addressing the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, the IAF Chief acknowledged that 'timeline is a big issue." 'So, once a timeline is given, not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time. So this is something we must look at," the Air Force chief said, adding, 'Why should we promise something which cannot be achieved? " He further added that while signing the contract itself, the forces are sometimes sure that it is not going to come up on time, but still we sign the contract. Notably, Singh's comments came nearly three months after he expressed dissatisfaction over the delayed delivery of Tejas Mk1A fighter jets by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. IAF Chief Calls For Made In India Equipment The IAF chief further talked about the need to use equipment which are Made In India and said, 'In the next 10 years, the Air Force will require more input from the industry, but we also need to act today and get into quick Make in India programs so that we can achieve the 'Now Ready' part of it, while 'Design in India' continues to progress in the near future." The Air Force Chief added that Operation Sindoor has again given us a clear idea of where we are headed and what we need in the future. Additionally, Singh hailed the 'professional" coordination between security agencies and armed forces during Operation Sindoor and called it a 'national victory." First Published: May 29, 2025, 16:27 IST
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Business Standard
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Private sector in plane production welcome, but mindset change needed, too
The end of HAL's automatic monopoly is a good thing, and it is welcome news that the ministry has moved so quickly on the recommendations of a report submitted in March Business Standard Editorial Comment Mumbai Listen to This Article India has long planned to build an indigenous fifth-generation fighter plane, in a project called the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, or Amca. Since 2010, when the first feasibility study for a twin-engine stealth plane was launched, it was assumed that it would be manufactured primarily by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the state-owned firm headquartered in Bengaluru. The Ministry of Defence this week, however, approved an execution model for the Amca programme, which says that the Defence Research and Development Organisation's Aeronautical Development Agency will supervise the project, but include both the private and public sectors in its execution. In other
The Star
7 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Asia boosts weapons buys, military research as security outlook darkens
An employee of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. walks inside a workshop of Jaguar fighter planes in Bangalore January 29, 2007. The UAE now operates a diversified network of collaborators, such as China's NORINCO weapons giant and rival India's Hindustan Aeronautics. - Reuters HONG KONG: Spending on weapons and research is spiking among some Asian countries as they respond to a darkening security outlook by broadening their outside industrial partnerships while trying to boost their own defence industries, a new study has found. The annual Asia-Pacific Regional Security Assessment released on Wednesday (May 28) by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said outside industrial help remains vital even as regional nations ultimately aim for self-reliance. "Recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, coupled with worsening US-China strategic competition and deterioration of the Asia-Pacific security landscape, may lead to a rising tide of defence-industrial partnerships," it read. "Competitive security dynamics over simmering flashpoints... feed into the need to develop military capabilities to address them." Spending on defence procurement and research and development rose US$2.7 billion between 2022 and 2024, it showed, to reach US$10.5 billion among South-East Asia's key nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The spike comes even as the nations spent an average of 1.5 per cent of GDP on defence in 2024, a figure that has kept relatively constant over the last decade. The study, released ahead of this weekend's annual Shangri-La Dialogue defence meeting in Singapore, said Asia-Pacific nations still rely on imports for most key weapons and equipment. Such items range from submarines and combat aircraft to drones, missiles and advanced electronics for surveillance and intelligence gathering. The informal Singapore gathering of global defence and military officials is expected to be dominated by uncertainties stemming from the protracted Ukraine conflict, Trump administration security policies and regional tension over Taiwan and the disputed busy waterway of the South China Sea. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are increasingly active and making inroads, the study said, though European companies have a prominent and expanding regional presence, via technology transfer, joint ventures and licenced assembly deals. The UAE now operates a diversified network of collaborators, such as China's NORINCO weapons giant and rival India's Hindustan Aeronautics. Joint development operations are not always easy, the study said, offering lessons from India's two-decade collaboration with Russia to produce the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile. While the feared weapon is fielded by India, exports have been hampered by lack of a clear strategy, with deliveries to its first third-party customer, the Philippines, starting only in 2024, the study added. Closer Russia-China ties could further complicate the weapon's development, particularly if Moscow chooses to prioritise ties with Beijing to develop a hypersonic version of the missile. - Reuters
