India gearing up for ambitious fifth-generation stealth fighter project

India is now finally moving ahead with its long-pending project to develop a fifth-generation stealth fighter, Report informs referring to The Times of India.

The full-scale engineering development case for the indigenous twin-engine advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA), at a cost of around Rs 15,000 crore, will ‘soon’ be sent to the PM-led cabinet committee on security (CCS) for the final approval, sources told TOI.

“Extensive inter-ministerial consultations on cost, design and level of indigenous content are virtually complete now. The DRDO case for the AMCA will soon be finalized,” a source said.

The ambitious AMCA project will involve the development of five prototypes, one structural test specimen, extensive flight testing and certification for the eventual 25-tonne swing-role fighter.

As per the projected timelines, the first AMCA prototype will roll out four years after the CCS sanction, with production to begin another six years after that.

The cost of the project is estimated at $1.8 billion.