“It’s a leap of faith for us,” said a senior Ministry of Defence (MOD) official on October 1 — a day after several of India’s largest private sector arms manufacturers joined a race to develop and produce the prototype of a stealth fighter that would be the country’s first.
The bid to become the development-cum-production partner (DcPP) for the prototype of the advanced medium combat aircraft (Amca) pits them against public sector aerospace giant Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The very fact that the Adani Group, Kalyani Group, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), and the Tatas were among private players vying to build a combat aircraft — that too a hard-to-build stealth platform — marks a departure from long-standing convention. The ₹15,000 crore Amca programme marks the first genuine opportunity to challenge HAL’s long-standing monopoly as the country’s default domestic manufacturer of combat aircraft. “There’s a lot of interest (from private firms), but let’s see how it goes,” said the MoD official. Any private sector company chosen for the job, however, will face a novel challenge: As former HAL chairman and managing director (CMD)
C B Ananthakrishnan noted: “Manufacturing aircraft, especially fighter jets, is an entirely different beast altogether. It cannot be compared to building even most land and naval military platforms.”
To top it, the fifth-generation Amca is unlike any fighter jet India has built. Like others in its class, it has been designed from the ground up for stealth — aircraft that are able to evade enemy sensors, including radars. This is enabled through a combination of a specially contoured airframe, the use of radar-absorbent materials and structures (RAM and RAS), and the internal carriage of weapons in a bay located on the underside of the fuselage. Its sensors and the manner in which the information they gather is fused and presented to the pilot will also constitute a quantum leap over the Tejas family of indigenous light combat aircraft currently produced by HAL. Only the United States (US), Russia, and China have so far operationalised their own fifth-generation fighters.
While a great deal of the research and development that went into the Tejas has informed the Amca programme, this knowledge represents only the tip of the iceberg when set against the overall complexity of the target platform.
“The Amca will be an entire generation beyond even the Mark-2 (Mk2) variant of the Tejas,” said Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari (retired). The Mk2 is a 4.5-generation upgrade —heavier and equipped with sensors often found on fifth-generation platforms—and will be the most advanced version of the Tejas. Prototyping for the Mk2 is underway
at HAL.
The former Indian Air Force (IAF) chief emphasised that stealth will be an essential capability for the IAF. “While the IAF’s existing platforms were able to strike targets deep within Pakistan during Operation Sindoor in May, only a stealth platform will be able to achieve similar results against China’s dense air defence environment and its anti-access and area-denial capabilities,” he explained. Stealth will also be crucial given the proliferation of high-performance, long-range air-to-air missiles in the subcontinent.
The IAF is likely to induct seven Amca squadrons, totalling 126 Indian-made jets. “The Amca will have to bring all the capabilities that we expect from a fifth-generation jet, and we won’t have the time for a prolonged development process. We need to accelerate to a finished product as soon as possible,” he added.
This is the challenge that awaits all contenders, but especially the private firms, which have entered the race without the benefit of HAL’s eight decades of experience. Incorporated as Hindustan Aircraft Ltd in 1940, the company has built a vast repertoire of licence-produced foreign platforms — ranging from World War II-era propeller-driven fighters and bombers, to the British de Havilland Vampire jet, the Soviet MiG-21 supersonic fighter, and the Russian Sukhoi Su-30MKI multirole air superiority aircraft. It is also manufacturing the Tejas jets, although a delay in meeting the original February 2024 deadline to begin deliveries of the Mark-1A (Mk1A) variant has drawn sustained criticism from the IAF.
Failure to unite
Since the MoD’s late-May approval of an execution model granting both private and public Indian defence firms equal opportunity to compete for the programme — whether independently, through joint ventures, or as consortia — private players have shaped strategies to maximise their strengths, meet the demands of building a stealth jet, and qualify as the DcPP.
The Amca’s design agency, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) — a department of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) — issued an expression of interest (EoI) in June to shortlist entities capable of developing a structural test specimen, five prototypes, and supporting their testing and certification.
A subsequent meeting convened by the ADA in Bengaluru on July 4 was attended by more than two dozen companies. But, according to sources, it quickly became apparent that the largest private firms would struggle to unite in taking on HAL. At least one major aerospace player raised concerns over a stipulation that, in a joint venture or a consortium, the lead company’s stake must not exceed 50 per cent.
There was also some apprehension that smaller private firms, believing they were unlikely to make the final cut, would inevitably align with HAL, thereby strengthening its bid under the EoI’s evaluation criteria. Notably, bidding solo rather than as part of a JV or a consortium would lead to a loss of points. Combined with another clause — under which companies would receive zero marks out of 100 if their order book was three times their revenue — HAL raised concerns that the criteria appeared weighted against it.
Sources said that between the July 4 meeting and the September 30 EoI submission deadline, efforts were made to forge a united front among the ‘big four’ — Adani, Kalyani, L&T, and Tata — but these did not succeed. In the meantime, they added, HAL held separate discussions with at least two of these conglomerates. According to the sources, HAL offered each company a 25 per cent stake, but neither was inclined to accept such a minority share. The EoI stipulates that a JV or consortium can comprise a maximum of three entities.
By the last week of September, it became clear that the major players would proceed separately, either independently or with their own consortia. Ultimately, they all entered the fray: HAL, Tata, Kalyani, Adani, and L&T.
The opportunity to build the Amca prototype — with the winning entity expected to be the natural choice for series production — was simply too big to forgo. “The Amca execution model is a bold move. Given that it’s the only chance to enter fighter jet manufacturing, we are moving quite aggressively,” said a source at one of the “big four”, just days before the EoI submission deadline.
Mission possible
If a decision is indeed taken to produce the Amca through the competing private sector entities, former DRDO chairman G Satheesh Reddy said, they would need to scale up their infrastructure, skill sets, and capability to absorb the complex fifth-generation technologies, which have already been developed by ADA and the DRDO labs.
Only Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), the Tata Group’s aerospace and defence arm, has responded to the Amca EoI independently. HAL has entered as the lead of a consortium with two smaller private firms, including Vem Technologies Pvt Ltd.
Bharat Forge Ltd, part of the Kalyani Group, is leading a consortium with BEML Ltd — a company under the administrative control of the MoD — and private-sector defence electronics firm Data Patterns (India) Ltd.
L&T is heading another consortium with the defence public sector undertaking Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), while Adani Defence & Aerospace is leading a consortium with private precision engineering company MTAR Technologies. There are two other consortia in the running: One comprises engineering solutions provider Goodluck India Ltd, defence firm Axiscades Technologies Ltd, and the government-controlled BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd. The other is a tie-up between ICOMM Tele Ltd, a group company of Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd, and precision metal components manufacturer PTC Industries Ltd.
While precision manufacturing of the stealth airframe is one of the most critical aspects, Reddy said a prospective private-sector DcPP would largely need to “build to print” — working entirely from the provided designs and specifications, including blueprints, detailed drawings, and material lists. “Manufacturing the aircraft itself won’t be a challenge,” he said, stressing that the speciality materials, including RAM and RAS, have already been developed and the Amca design has been frozen. The initial prototype could also be realised at ADA.
Among the private contenders, only TASL can claim experience in integrating the thousands of components that constitute a complex manned aircraft and assembling a complete platform. This stems from its October 2024 milestone in establishing India’s first private sector military aircraft manufacturing facility — the final assembly line for the Airbus C295 transport aircraft for the IAF — at Vadodara, Gujarat. The company has also invested its own resources in avionics and sensor integration
for aircraft.
TASL and L&T also have precision manufacturing experience from their involvement in the Tejas Mk1A programme, for which HAL has outsourced a substantial portion of production. As a result, the jet’s fin and rudder assemblies have been delivered through a joint effort between the National Aerospace Laboratories and TASL, while L&T is responsible for the wing assemblies.
Adani Defence & Aerospace manufactures the Drishti-10 Starliner, an indigenous version of an Israeli medium-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle, for the Indian Navy. Bharat Forge supplies turbine blades for Rolls-Royce aero engines, which demand expertise in working with high-temperature alloys. It also exports other aircraft engine components, as well as landing gears for civilian aircraft. Bharat Forge also has a gas turbine and technology development centre in Bengaluru, aimed at developing small jet engines to power drones and cruise missiles. It has already developed one such engine, the Kalyani Gas Turbine 45.
Goodluck India, though relatively smaller, has likewise executed precision forgings for the Akash surface-to-air missile system, the Pralay quasi-ballistic missile, and the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile. Meanwhile, PTC manufactures titanium and superalloy castings for aerospace and defence applications, with clients ranging from HAL, DRDO, and BrahMos Aerospace in India to global names such as Safran, Dassault Aviation, and BAE Systems.
While the private players may be able to achieve production quality control without much trouble, the former DRDO chairman, Reddy, cautioned that the DcPP would have to manage the supply chain for materials used in building the Amca. “Some of these are not routine materials that many of these firms are accustomed to handling,” he added. For instance, the Amca’s cockpit canopy will be coated with indium tin oxide to reduce radar reflections.
The strategic partnerships forged by many of the private players appear to have been carefully tailored to meet the challenges ahead.
For instance, both L&T and Bharat Forge have brought electronics partners on board — unsurprising, given the extent to which the production of an advanced fighter hinges on the integration of sensors and mission electronics. The other lead firms have also been careful in their selections. For instance, Adani’s partner, MTAR, supplied subsystems for the Chandrayaan-2 and Mangalyaan space missions, as well as complex assemblies for the Agni series of ballistic missiles.
“Transitioning into manufacturing the Amca prototype is not an impossible task,” said a source at one of the competing private companies, underscoring that most of them — particularly the “big four” — have experience in critical defence projects. In particular, the private sector’s involvement in the engineering and construction of India’s strategic submarines was cited as an example of what the sector is capable of achieving.
There is also a perception that the government is keen to offer private players a genuine opportunity, as it scouts for a second fighter jet manufacturer. “The EoI’s stipulations suggest that the government does not want HAL to win by default. In particular, one of the evaluation criteria — based on the order book-to-revenue ratio — seems to indicate a view that too many orders have been concentrated in one place,” the source added. An executive from one of the smaller private contenders also expressed confidence that the EoI’s conditions had been framed to ensure that HAL would not enjoy an outright advantage, and that firms like theirs would also be able to score competitively.
Trials ahead
In general, the government is intent on expanding private sector participation in combat aircraft manufacturing, backed by the IAF brass to help restore the service’s squadron strength that has slid to a six-decade low. However, the responsibilities of the selected DcPP—whether public or private — will extend beyond merely translating the Amca’s design into a physical aircraft.
“Just as HAL was responsible for testing the jets it manufactured, a prospective private-sector DcPP will also be entrusted with a share of responsibility for testing the Amca and, in coordination with the Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC), its qualification,” said former HAL CMD Ananthakrishnan. CEMILAC, a regulatory body under the DRDO, carries out airworthiness certification of military aircraft and airborne systems.
He noted that the DcPP would have its task cut out — from integrating all line-replaceable units, avionics, and engines to supporting ground and flight tests of the prototype. The testing and qualification phases, he stressed, would be particularly demanding given CEMILAC’s stringent standards.
Reddy pointed out that these phases would require dedicated infrastructure, particularly access to airside facilities — complete with runways and hangars.
Ananthakrishnan noted that a private player making the cut would either have to develop such infrastructure or secure access to existing facilities — likely with government support, which both he and Reddy believed would be forthcoming. He added that specialised equipment would also be needed for the prototype’s ground tests, while securing qualified test pilots would pose an additional challenge.
HAL, for its part, operates two airside facilities — in Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Nashik (Maharashtra) —and recruits test pilots, typically retired IAF personnel, through its own selection process.
“Replicating HAL’s expertise in testing and qualification in the private sector will require years of sustained effort and institutional support — it won’t happen overnight,” said Ananthakrishnan, adding that it was nevertheless a realistically achievable goal.
Much will ultimately depend on how the share of responsibility for testing and qualification is worked out between ADA and the DcPP. ADA itself is capable of carrying out these activities through its National Flight Test Centre, which has undertaken prototype and certification trials for the Tejas. ADA also has access to the same airside facility as HAL in Bengaluru.
Here, once again, only TASL among the private contenders has exposure to the testing and qualification of a manned military aircraft — this, too, thanks to the C295 FAL in Vadodara. TASL’s remit stretches from pre-flight-test support to taking the aircraft through the qualification process. The aircraft, flown by Airbus pilots, are to undergo testing at its facility. Bharat Forge and L&T are also confident of successfully supporting the testing and qualification activities. “There won’t be a level playing field unless the MoD ensures that airside facility access (for testing and qualification) is granted to private industry,” said Jayant Patil, former whole-time director and member of the executive management committee at L&T.
If such access is denied and a prospective private-sector DcPP is compelled to build a new facility solely for the Amca, he cautioned, extremely low utilisation would result in the asset creation and servicing costs being loaded onto the programme itself.
“This is the single largest cost element and would make the private players’ bids more expensive than HAL’s, which already has access to government-funded airside facilities and incurs no servicing costs on those assets,” said Patil, adding that competitive bidding would become “just a paper exercise” under such circumstances.
The MoD is exploring ways to address the industry’s concerns — as highlighted by Patil — with the senior ministry official cited above indicating that access to IAF bases and common test facilities, possibly at a discounted rate, could be extended to any private sector player that qualifies as the DcPP.
“Ultimately, it’s a weapons delivery platform,” a HAL executive said last month at Nashik, explaining that the much-awaited deliveries of the Tejas Mk1A to the IAF would start only after successful completion of the weapons-firing trials currently underway.
While the characterisation holds true for the Amca as well, former IAF chief Chaudhari said, “Amca’s testing regime will be very different — much more complex, with many more test points to document.” Ensuring the jet’s low radar cross section — the primary measure of its stealth — will only add to this. For instance, during weapon-firing trials, the doors of the internal weapons bay must open and close in the blink of an eye to release the weapon. “For the duration the doors are open, the jet’s stealthiness is compromised,” he said.
Even the US experienced a delay of over a decade and a $250 billion-cost overrun in completing the original F-35 stealth jet development programme.
Former DRDO chairman Reddy expressed confidence in the private sector’s ability to meet the challenge, stating, “They will acquire the requisite knowledge during the development phase, and government support may be arranged to facilitate skill set development. ”While many trials lie ahead, for now, all competing entities—private and public alike — remain in wait-and-watch mode as they are sized up by a committee of senior DRDO officials. A request for quotation will be issued once the evaluation process concludes, followed by contract negotiations.
Once the winning candidate is selected, things are expected to move swiftly, with defence sources stating that the first flight of the Amca prototype is anticipated in late 2028 or early 2029. It is an ambitious timeline for putting a stealth jet in the air, but a vital one, as China already fields 300 fifth-generation jets and, last December, unveiled two aircraft widely assessed to be even more advanced sixth-generation platforms, or developmental precursors to them.
With the US, China, and a clutch of European nations progressing their sixth-generation programmes, the Amca cannot afford delays. In January, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh, referring to setbacks in Tejas deliveries, cautioned: “Technology delayed is technology denied.”
That message driven home, all that the companies are now looking for is a level-playing field—a runway, if you will— to get the stealth fighter off to a smooth and soaring start.
 "Taxiing in: India's stealth fighter")
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