India’s ambitious fifth-generation fighter aircraft initiative has reached a decisive phase, with Larsen & Toubro (L&T), in partnership with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), expecting the project award by the fourth quarter of the financial year 2026-27.

The program, known as the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), is being overseen by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Ministry of Defence.

According to P Ramakrishnan, Executive Vice President of L&T, the ADA is in the process of evaluating Expressions of Interest (EoIs) received from leading Indian aerospace and defence companies.

The shortlist of eligible bidders is anticipated within the current quarter, from October to December 2025. Once the shortlist is released, a Request for Proposal (RFP) is expected to follow in the last quarter of FY2025-26.

Following the submission and evaluation of bids, the ADA is likely to announce the selected consortium for prototype development by January to March 2027. The chosen consortium’s mandate will cover prototype construction, airframe development, system integration, and flight certification activities for the AMCA.

Ramakrishnan mentioned that if the contract is awarded in early 2027, the first flight-ready prototype could emerge by 2028 or 2029, with flight testing expected in the financial year 2029-30. He estimated serial production to begin roughly eight to nine years thereafter, aligning with India’s long-term self-reliance goals in advanced combat aircraft manufacturing.

The AMCA is conceived as a fifth-generation stealth fighter equipped with cutting-edge technologies such as low observability, supercruise-capable engines, multi-spectral sensors, and a network-centric avionics suite for superior combat awareness across domains. The project marks a major step toward modernising India’s air combat capabilities.

The inclusion of private sector participation in such a significant defence aviation programme represents a strategic departure from the past, where Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) held exclusive responsibility for fighter aircraft development.

Apart from the L&T-BEL joint venture, other leading contenders include HAL, TATA Advanced Systems, BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram (with Goodluck India and Axiscades Technologies), Adani Defence and Aerospace, and Kalyani Strategic Systems.

L&T and BEL bring substantial experience from their involvement in India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) TEJAS program, where they contributed major structures, avionics, and mission-critical systems. This experience positions them well to handle the technological and engineering demands of the AMCA.

While India strengthens its domestic fifth-generation aircraft development efforts, competitors such as China are already flight-testing sixth-generation designs, underscoring the strategic importance of accelerating indigenous programmes.

With the AMCA, India aims not only to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers but also to emerge as a manufacturing and technology hub in next-generation combat aviation.

Based On ET News Report