New Delhi, May 27: In a major Defence-related development, the Government of India today took a crucial step towards acquisition of indigenous 5th Generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) for the Air Force.
The Defence Ministry issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the acquiring the fighter planes to three shortlisted bidders — Larsen and Toubro-Bharat Electronics Limited, Tata Advanced Systems, and Bharat Forge-BEML.
The move is aimed at strengthening indigenous defence capabilities.
The AMCA Programme Execution Model was approved last year by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Under the plan, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will manage the programme through partnerships with the industry.
The execution model offers competitive opportunities to both private and public sector entities.
The AMCA programme has a total estimated cost of around Rs 15,000 crore, with the Core Integration & Flight Testing Centre, a division of the ADA affiliated with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), costing approximately Rs 2,000 crore.
A few days back, on May 15, Rajnath Singh along with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stones for the Core Integration & Flight Testing Centre at Puttaparthi to accelerate development of the fifth-generation AMCA and other future indigenous platforms.
“Puttaparthi is set to join the exclusive league of global destinations from which a fifth-generation aircraft will take to the skies. It will become the birthplace of an aircraft capable of annihilating the enemy in the blink of an eye,” Singh said.
Additionally, a full-scale model of India’s first 5.5-generation stealth aircraft, the AMCA, was displayed with advanced features at the India Pavilion during Aero India 2025 in February 2025.
Designed by ADA for the Indian Air Force, the AMCA incorporates artificial intelligence, which ADA says will enhance development progress and operational capabilities, establishing the aircraft among the most advanced fifth-generation fighters in service today.
