Cabinet okays 5th generation stealth fighter jet project

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, March 7

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a significant decision today okayed the proposal to design and manufacture India’s indigenous fifth generation fighter aircraft — Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The Rs 15,000-crore project is for the design and prototype development of the aircraft that will eventually have two variants with different thrust of engines. The Mark 1 version is expected to be powered by General Electric F414 engine 98 kilo Newton engine. The second upgraded version will be powered by a 110 kilonewton engine, which is being developed.

The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) along with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and private companies will design and manufacture it.

The IAF is looking at seven squadrons (18 planes each) of the AMCA, which includes two squadrons of the AMCA Mark 1 and rest to be Mark 2.

The Mark 2 will be powered by new indigenous engines for which the contenders are Safran of France, GE of the US and Rolls Royce of the UK. The AMCA will boast of the latest avionics and indigenous AESA radar, besides having the capability to carry weapons internally as well as externally.