Govt invites Indian cos to build indigenous 5th-gen fighter jet; Rs 15,000 cr budgeted for prototype

New Delhi: The government has invited Indian companies to participate in a project to develop, build prototypes, support flight testing and certify an indigenous fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

India's biggest military research and development programme is now up for grabs under a model that will see domestic private companies facing off with established public sector entities to make advanced medium combat aircraft.

The Aeronautical Development Agency has issued an Expression of Interest (EoI) to pre-qualify Indian companies with technical expertise to make the fighters in not more than eight years.


The applicants can be a single company, a joint venture or a consortium, provided they comply with laws. Given the size of the project - ₹15,000 crore has been budgeted to make prototypes while the final order may amount to lakhs of crores - consortiums are likely to bid for it.

Applicants will need to prove that they have the technical capability to absorb AMCA design and possess adequate experience in development, engineering, manufacturing, equipping and testing.

A meeting with all potential bidders will be held in the first week of July to clarify queries.

Participating companies have time till August 16 to submit their bids. The fifth-generation fighter jets will become India's mainstay aerial platform from the mid-2030s.

Leading contenders for the programme will include Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Tata Advanced Systems Limited and Adani Defence. India's largest defence company, Larsen and Toubro, is also likely to be qualified to bid.