Billed as one of India’s most ambitious defence aviation programmes, the indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) has been witnessing encouraging progress, with the project moving to the prototype stage and three consortia being shortlisted to develop the prototype.
According to a report in The Economic Times, the bidders — Tata Advanced Systems Limited, which is bidding as an independent entity, a Larsen & Toubro-Bharat Electronics Limited-led consortium, and a consortium led by Bharat Forge along with BEML and Data Patterns — are expected to receive tenders by the end of May.
The final selection will now depend on the commercial bids submitted by the bidders. The successful bidder will collaborate with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to build five prototypes of the AMCA at the AMCA infrastructure project in Puttaparthi, in Sri Sathya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh.
The prototypes are expected to be manufactured and flown by 2032.
The ET report, citing sources, said that once the AMCA prototypes successfully complete development and testing, the Indian Air Force is expected to float a separate large-scale procurement tender for the fighter jets. While Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is out of the prototype race, the DPSU too is expected to take part in the tender.
The company chosen for the prototype phase is expected to enjoy a significant edge in securing the eventual production contract.