The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) project marks a major milestone in India's quest for an indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, reported India TV News web portal.

According to AMCA Project Director Krishna Rajendra, the paper design of the AMCA prototype has been finalised at the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Ministry of Defence. The aircraft is expected to make its first flight appearance by the end of 2027, with the program moving steadily towards flight trials and eventual induction.

The AMCA will be a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, featuring advanced stealth capabilities to evade enemy radars, making it effectively invisible on radar screens—a key attribute that sets it apart from previous generation fighters.

Its design is completely indigenous, developed through close collaboration between ADA, various DRDO labs, CSR facilities, academic institutions, and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Key technical features of the AMCA include:

Twin-engine, single-seat configuration with a maximum take-off weight around 25 tons.

An internal weapon bay capable of carrying armaments inside the belly of the aircraft, preserving stealth by avoiding radar signature from external stores.

Dual Operational Modes: Stealth Mode allowing internal weapon load capacity of up to 1.5 tons. Non-Stealth Mode allowing weapons load of up to 5 tons.

Use of low radar cross-section materials and design features that reduce the electromagnetic signature, enabling it to penetrate hostile airspace with minimal detection.

Integration of super-cruise capability, allowing sustained supersonic flight without afterburners.

Advanced avionics, including active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, sensor fusion, and net-centric warfare systems for real-time battlefield awareness and command.

Integrated vehicle health management systems enabling predictive maintenance for operational readiness.

Artificial intelligence-enabled "electronic pilot" system that assists the lone pilot by performing tasks of what would normally require a second pilot. This AI-powered co-pilot aids in decision making and enhances situational awareness, effectively reducing pilot workload and increasing mission success probability.

The AMCA is designed to operate as a multi-role combat aircraft with air-to-air and air-to-ground capabilities, able to carry long-range air-to-air missiles and precision-guided munitions internally, thereby maintaining stealth.

It is envisioned as a replacement for ageing fleets of MiG and Jaguar aircraft and will complement the existing indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) TEJAS and the future Medium Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MMRFA) in the Indian Air Force's order of battle.

Financially, the project has received a cabinet approval with an estimated development cost of around 15,000 crore rupees, signifying a major boost to India’s indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities. The program also includes five prototypes planned for development before entering series production.

With this aircraft, India joins an exclusive group of nations like the United States, Russia, and China with indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter capability. The AMCA thus represents a leap forward in India's defence technology and self-reliance in advanced military aviation.

Specific Stealth Features

The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) incorporates several specific stealth features that make it comparable to global fifth-generation fighters such as the American F-35, Chinese J-20, and Russian Su-57. The key stealth attributes include:

Internal Weapons Bay: The AMCA stores armaments inside internal weapon bays rather than externally, which drastically reduces radar cross-section (RCS) by eliminating radar reflections from external stores. The internal bays can carry up to 1.5 tonnes of weapons in stealth mode, balancing firepower with stealth.

Serpentine Air Intakes: The air intake ducts are designed in a serpentine shape to block direct line-of-sight to the engine faces, which are radar reflective. This helps shield the engine Compressor blades, a major source of radar returns, enhancing stealth.

Radar-Absorbent Materials And Surface Coatings: The aircraft surface uses special materials that absorb or divert radar waves rather than reflecting them, minimising detectability. These radar-absorbent materials (RAM) cover the airframe to reduce the radar signature.

Low Electromagnetic Signature: The design emphasises a low electromagnetic signature by integrating advanced avionics and electronic warfare capabilities to minimise emissions and signal interception.

All-Aspect Stealth Design: Unlike some stealth fighters optimised mainly for frontal stealth, the AMCA aims for low observability from all angles—front, sides, top, and rear—enhancing survivability against modern detection technologies, including multi-static and low-frequency radars.

Heat Signature Reduction: Advanced exhaust and heat management features reduce infrared (IR) signatures, making the jet harder to detect by heat-seeking missiles and IR sensors.

AI-Enabled Electronic Pilot: While not directly a stealth feature, the AI-powered "electronic pilot" helps manage complex systems and threat detection, allowing the pilot to focus on evasion and stealth tactics more effectively.

Together, these features enable the AMCA to delay detection, confuse enemy sensors, and reduce the time adversaries have to react, placing it on par with the stealth capabilities of other fifth-generation fighters globally.

Differences Between Stealth And Non-Stealth Modes In Terms of Weapon Load Capacity

The differences between stealth and non-stealth modes in terms of weapon load capacity primarily relate to how the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) balances stealth capabilities with payload.

In Stealth Mode, the AMCA carries weapons inside internal bays to maintain a low radar cross-section. This internal carriage preserves stealth by avoiding externally mounted weapons that would reflect radar signals. However, this limits the weapon load capacity to about 1.5 tonnes in stealth mode due to space and design constraints within the internal weapon bays.

In Non-Stealth Mode, the AMCA can carry a larger weapon load externally on hard-points or pylons outside the aircraft structure. This allows a significantly higher payload capacity of up to 5 tonnes of weapons. However, the external carriage increases the radar signature, making the aircraft more detectable by enemy radar.

This trade-off between stealth and payload is common among fifth-generation stealth fighters. Carrying weapons internally restricts the payload but maintains stealth, whereas carrying weapons externally increases firepower but sacrifices low observability. Stealth aircraft like the AMCA, F-117, and others often operate with reduced payloads in stealth mode but compensate with advanced sensors, electronic warfare, and tactics to maximise mission effectiveness.

Summary

AMCA’s stealth is achieved through internal weapons carriage, advanced materials and coatings, design shaping for all-aspect low observability, serpentine intakes, electromagnetic emission control, and infrared signature management—all integrated with AI-assisted avionics for enhanced combat effectiveness.

This combination makes the AMCA a significant step forward in indigenous stealth fighter technology comparable to contemporary global fifth-generation aircraft. The AMCA is a highly advanced, stealth-enabled fifth-generation multi-role fighter jet designed indigenously in India with:

This aircraft embodies a significant stride towards India's strategic autonomy in air combat capabilities and technological innovation in defence aerospace.

IDN (Synthesised with Limited Inputs From India TV News Report)