India's Ministry of Defense seeks builder for AMCA stealth fighter
India's Ministry of Defense has officially started the hunt for a company to build the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), a homegrown, fifth-generation stealth fighter jet.
Proposals have gone out to three shortlisted bidders/consortia, with prototypes expected to fly by 2032 and deliveries projected to begin by 2035.
Prototype budget 15,000 cr boosts manufacturing
The AMCA project comes with a hefty ₹15,000 crore budget just for prototypes, aiming to supercharge Indian defense manufacturing.
The chosen company will team up with the Aeronautical Development Agency to build five test jets at a new Andhra Pradesh facility.
If all goes well in testing, the Indian Air Force is expected to place a larger order for around 120 jets in the first phase, helping India rely less on imports and level up with advanced stealth tech, AI features, and smarter targeting systems.