Adani Defence to submit bid for AMCA stealth fighter jet programme

Adani Defence & Aerospace has confirmed its participation in the Defence Ministry’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme, India’s flagship fifth-generation stealth fighter project.

Ashish Rajvanshi, CEO of Adani Defence & Aerospace, said the programme is currently at the Expression of Interest (EoI) stage, with responses due by September 30.

“So currently, the program is in an EoI stage, and all of us have to submit our responses by 30th of September. We are definitely going to put in our response for the AMCA programme,” Rajvanshi said.

He added that AMCA is envisaged as a 10-year development programme, with the first fighter aircraft expected to enter the Indian Air Force inventory by 2034–35. “If successful, we get into serial production subsequently,” he said.

The AMCA project, spearheaded by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is India’s most ambitious fighter aircraft development programme yet. It is designed as a twin-engine, fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter, capable of air superiority, ground-strike, and electronic warfare missions.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh recently approved the AMCA Execution Model, which for the first time opens the programme to both public and private sector participation. The government has projected an outlay of about Rs 15,000 crore for the development phase, with ADA inviting industry consortiums to play a lead role in prototype development, testing, and certification.