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AMCA

India's Fifth-Generation Fighter Programme

The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is India's programme to indigenously design a single-seat, twin-engine, fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter. It is being developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), a DRDO laboratory, with Hindu­stan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as production partner, and is intended to eventually replace/supplement the Su-30MKI and Tejas fleets.

Key details
  • Twin-engine, single-seat, stealth (low radar cross-section) design — distinguishes it from the single-engine Tejas (LCA) and Tejas Mk2
  • The AMCA Mk1 variant is expected to initially use the American GE Aerospace F414 engine (the same engine family selected for Tejas Mk2), pending development of an indigenous high-thrust engine for later Mk2 variants
  • The target requirement for the indigenous engine is in the 110–130 kN thrust class, needed for genuine supercruise (sustained supersonic flight without afterburner) and stealth performance
  • ADA operates under DRDO; production and manufacturing partnerships (like the Reliance-Rolls-Royce or HAL-linked arrangements) follow India's "Make" category and strategic partnership model under the Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)
In the news

Tracked since August 14, 2026 · last seen August 22, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes

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