Overview
- The Defence Ministry on Wednesday, May 27, 2026 issued Request for Proposals to three shortlisted private consortia — Tata Advanced Systems, an L&T‑BEL group, and a Bharat Forge‑BEML team — to build five flying AMCA prototypes and one structural test airframe.
- The government has budgeted about Rs 15,000 crore for the prototype phase and laid the groundwork for a new Integration and Flight Testing Complex at Puttaparthi to host assembly, systems integration, and flight trials.
- Under the RFP the winning partner must work with the Aeronautical Development Agency of DRDO for design oversight, must deliver the first prototype manufacture roughly 30 months from contract award and all five prototypes within about 64 months, and selection of the L1 bidder is targeted in January–March 2027.
- The technical plan calls for an interim GE F414‑class engine for the AMCA Mk‑1 and a later higher‑thrust Mk‑2 engine to be developed with domestic and foreign partners such as HAL and Safran, highlighting key supply‑chain dependencies.
- Excluding state‑run HAL from the prototype competition marks a deliberate policy shift toward private‑sector execution that could accelerate timelines, widen industry capacity and create new jobs at the Puttaparthi hub while leaving open a possible HAL role in future mass production.