In a landmark move, Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has given his nod for partnering with the private sector in the country's pursuit to develop the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), the country's maiden stealth aircraft.
"In a significant push towards enhancing India's indigenous defence capabilities and fostering a robust domestic aerospace industrial ecosystem, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Programme Execution Model. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is set to execute the programme through Industry partnership," the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Execution Model approach provides equal opportunities to both private and public sectors on competitive basis, the statement added.
The ministry further clarified that both private and public sector companies can bid independently and would also have the choice to form a joint venture or a consortium for the project. However, "the entity/bidder should be an Indian company compliant with the laws and regulations of the country."
Notably, the AMCA is being developed as India's indigenous 5.5 generation warplane with state-of-the-art stealth features.
The prototype of the combat jet is expected to be ready by 2026-27 with its maiden flight scheduled for 2028, while serial production is slated to commence in 2034-35.
Nonetheless, following its military confrontation with Pakistan earlier this month, India appears to be leaving no stone unturned in expediting the AMCA programme, considering that neighbouring China and Pakistan, both hostile nations, are making considerable progress in inducting stealth fighters in their air forces.
While China is already operating the J-35 fighter jet, it is also contemplating the fast-tracking of deliveries of its export version to Pakistan, as per reports.