India gives green light to its own stealth fighter program
India’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday approved the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program, which will produce a next-generation stealth fighter jet developed in the country.
The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will lead the project in partnership with private manufacturers, and the goal is to accelerate the development of the prototype of the 5th generation aircraft.
The study of a stealth fighter has been in the works since at least 2010, but has progressed slowly. In February, during Aero India 2025 in Bengaluru, afull-scale mock-up of the project was unveiled.
The aircraft bears similarities to the US F-35, but will be powered by two engines with a maximum takeoff weight of 25 tons.
Tension with Pakistan
The government’s approval of the AMCA program comes amid growing tensions with Pakistan, which have recently culminated in reciprocal attacks.
The downing of a Dassault Rafale fighter by a Chinese J-10CE jet from Pakistan may have been the last straw for Prime Minister Modi’s government to decide to accelerate the development of the 5th generation fighter.
The Pakistan Air Force, in turn, has an increasingly close relationship with China, manufacturing a fighter in partnership, the JF-17, and being the only foreign customer for the J-10C.
There are strong rumors that the country will also receive the Shenyang J-35A, China’s second stealth fighter, which is still under development, in the near future.
The plan outlined by the Indian government is to deliver the new fighter by 2035, but one of the challenges of the program is to develop a local engine in partnership with a foreign supplier.
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Ricardo Meier
Creator of the website that started in 1996 as a magazine. He also writes on Brazilian websites AUTOO, MOTOO and MetrôCPTM.
