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HAL Excluded from India's Stealth Fighter Jet Prototype Program: Defence Secretary Explains
- •Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) did not qualify to build prototypes of India's indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) due to technical grounds, Defence Secretary RK Singh stated.
- •This exclusion marks the first time HAL has been kept out of an indigenous fighter-jet project, as the Defence Ministry aims to create a second fighter-jet production line.
- •Three private-sector bidders qualified for the AMCA prototype program: Tata Advanced Systems (TASL), an L&T-BEL-Dynamatic consortium, and a Bharat Forge-BEML-Data Patterns consortium.
- •The government is funding the approximately Rs15,000 crore prototype phase, with the selected bidder building five flying prototypes and one structural test aircraft.
- •The first AMCA prototype, India's indigenous stealth fighter, is expected to fly in September 2028, utilizing General Electric F414 engines.
Key Questions Answered
Hindustan Aeronautics did not qualify to build the prototypes of India's indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft on routine technical grounds. This exclusion marks the first time HAL has been kept out of an indigenous fighter-jet project as the government seeks to establish a second production line.
Three bidders qualified for the program: Tata Advanced Systems, an L&T-BEL-Dynamatic consortium, and a Bharat Forge-BEML-Data Patterns consortium. The Aeronautical Development Agency issued a request for proposal to these shortlisted bidders to build five flying prototypes and one structural test aircraft.
Defence Secretary RK Singh stated that the first AMCA prototype is expected to fly in September 2028. The government is funding the roughly Rs 15,000 crore prototype phase, with the initial prototypes planned to use General Electric F414 engines.
