India has now decided to end its reliance on foreign fighter jets with the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) clearing a long-pending proposal to indigenously design and develop a fifth-generation deep penetration Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) in line with the futuristic requirement of the Indian Air Force. According to reports, the swing-role AMCA will be capable of achieving supersonic cruise speed. The initial cost of the project will be Rs 15,000 crore. This would be India’s another ambitious project after developing Light Combat Aircraf Tejas. This comes as a boost for Make In India in Defence.
India’s Fighter Aircraft Project
India has so far not built Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft and for its security needs, it often relies on France and Russia. India has 36 Rafale aircraft and it has expressed interest in buying 26 more aircraft from France. The Indian Air Force (IAF) manages a diverse range of aircraft fleets, comprising over 1,700 aircraft, which includes more than 900 combat aircraft. Most of these aircraft are of foreign origin.
LCA Tejas Project
The Light Combat Aircraft trainer is a lightweight, all-weather, multirole aircraft. Tejas aircraft is a potent platform for air combat and offensive air support missions while reconnaissance and anti-ship operations are its secondary roles. This is the first time ever that an indigenous twin-seat fighter has been designed, developed and manufactured in India. The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the IAF in 2016. Currently, two squadrons of IAF, 45 Squadron and 18 Squadron, are fully operational with LCA Tejas. An order worth Rs 36,468 Crore for delivery of 83 LCA Mk 1A aircraft has been placed with HAL and delivery is scheduled to begin by March end this year. HAL has the current capacity to build 8 LCA aircraft per year. This is being increased to 16 aircraft every year by 2025 and further to 24 aircraft every year in the next 3 years.
Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft Project
While India has developed LCA Tejas, it has been working to develop and build an ambitious AMCA jet. Indian firms are working to develop a medium-weight deep penetration fighter jet with advanced stealth features to bolster its Air Force’s power capability. At present, only selected countries like the US, Russia and China have fifth-generation stealth fighter jets. Under the project, five prototypes of the AMCA will jointly be built by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) with support from private industries.
Other Projects In Pipeline
The CCS also accorded in-principle approval to procure 34 Dhruv advanced light helicopters for the Coast Guard and the Indian Army. On the other hand, the Indian Air Force is also in the process of procuring 114 Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA). The IAF will acquire 114 jets at a cost of around $18 billion.