HAL Begins Production Of India’s 5th Gen Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)

In collaboration with the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency, India’s state-owned aerospace and defence corporation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has begun producing India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

With the start of production activity, the AMCA programme entered a critical phase. The plan calls for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy to be equipped with a 5.5 Generation twin-engine stealth fighter.

Inside the Design and Development Department 

While HAL and ADA will handle the design and development, commercial defence companies will be involved in the production of the combat jet. The advanced stealth fighter will be a multirole fighter capable of air dominance, ground strike, enemy air defence suppression, and electronic warfare tasks.

The first two squadrons in the AMCA MK-1 configuration will be powered by an imported engine, while the remaining five squadrons with advanced features (Mark 2) will be powered by 125-kilonewton engines made in India and equipped with 6th Generation technologies.

It’s worth noting that the new fighter’s engine will be built jointly by India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and France’s Safran. India’s aviation arsenal will be strengthened by the latest stealth aircraft, which will improve air superiority. In addition, the naval variant of the aircraft will serve as the primary combat jet for the Navy’s aircraft carriers.

In addition to stealth features, the new aircraft will include three-dimensional thrust vectoring, a made-in-India Uttam active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, and an internal weapons bay to enhance the aircraft’s stealth capabilities.

AMCA has a top speed of almost 2,600 kilometres per hour (Mach 2.15), as well as a combat range of 1,620 kilometres. In the non-stealth form, the fighter will be equipped with a 23 mm cannon and 14 hardpoints to carry weaponry weighing 6,500 kgs.

The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is currently working with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on the MK-2 version of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) TEJAS, as well as the AMCA and the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) for the Indian Navy.

“The configuration has been frozen,” Girish S Deodhare, Director General of ADA, said in a statement to the media. “Preliminary Service Quality Requirements (PSQR) have been finalised, and the preliminary design review is complete.”