CCS approval sought for prototype development of India’s futuristic stealth fighter

Vishal Thapar Mar 14, 2022

The Ministry of Defence has initiated the process for obtaining the approval of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) for the design and prototype development of India’s 5.5 generation fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

This was stated in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha by Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt on March 14.

This statement comes five days after the announcement by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) of commencement of the process of production of the first prototype of the AMCA.

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“Based on the design by ADA & DRDO, the fabrication of Leading Edge of AMCA initiated at HAL with special material for 5th gen design. The unit will undergo structural & other testing before putting it on the first prototype. An important milestone for AMCA,” DRDO declared on March 9.

DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has planned to build five AMCA prototypes for the development process and flight testing. The first flight is planned for 2024-25 and series production is slated to begin in 2030, although the development agency is confident about compressing the timeframe to 2028-29 after four years of flight testing.

AMCA is being developed as a 20-ton stealth fighter with supercruise, the ability to fly supersonic without engaging jet engine afterburners which suppresses detection by radar and makes the aircraft difficult to target.

Although the Critical Design Review (CDR) of the AMCA is still pending, its configuration was frozen after the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in December 2020. The CDR is targeted for later this year. The rollout of the first prototype is scheduled for 2023-24.

The IAF is reported to have committed to 40 AMCA Mk-1 fighters and at least 100 Mk-2 variants, besides some units of the unmanned variant.