L&T, BEL join hands to bid for next-gen fighter jet contract

New Delhi: India's largest private sector defence player Larsen and Toubro has announced a strategic partnership with state-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to bid for a mega contract to make next-generation fighter jets for the Air Force.

The consortium said it will participate in the Expression of Interest notice issued by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) by submitting a response in the coming weeks, making it the first off the block to announce such a partnership.

The competition to make next Gen jets under the Advanced Multirole Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program is expected to have several strong contenders. Tata Advanced Systems Limited is expected to go in alone and bid for the contract, given its strong experience in aeronautical manufacturing and a robust order book.


The strongest aeronautical manufacturer in the country, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is unlikely to be able to bid alone and will also have to take in a private sector partner, as first reported by ET. This is because the terms of qualification to bid may not allow it to bid independently, because of its large order book, when compared to annual revenue.

It remains to be seen what kind of consortium HAL takes part in to bid for the contract. Other companies keen to take part in the competition are Adani Defence, Mahindra Aerospace and Kalyani Defence.

On its partnership with BEL, L&T officials said it would leverage both companies' expertise in defence electronics and developing military platforms and present a strong case. In the past, L&T and BEL have played a pivotal role in India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft programme by supplying major aero-structure modules and developing mission-critical avionics and electronic systems, they added.

Both the organisations are leaders in our respective domains and our combined efforts will play a crucial role in bolstering national security and advancing self-reliance in defence technologies," SN Subrahmanyan, chairman and managing director, L&T, said.

As reported by ET, the high-stake battle to develop India's next generation fighter jet is heating up, with protests reaching design body Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) on terms and conditions for the selection of a manufacturing partner.

HAL has already submitted to ADA that the qualifying terms and conditions when it comes to financial performance of companies are skewed against it.