Panels to assess firms vying for stealth fighter project

Two top government panels will assess the capabilities of the seven public and private sector entities competing for the development of India’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet or the AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) programme, officials aware of the matter said on Monday.

- Rahul Singh

The firms will be first evaluated by a committee of senior DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation) officials and their findings will be sent to a panel headed by the defence secretary for further review, the officials added, asking not to be named.

Those eyeing the AMCA programme include Hindustan Aeronautics Limited thathas partnered with two smaller firms, Tata Advanced Systems Limited, Adani Defence and Aerospace, Larsen & Toubro (L&T) with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Goodluck India along with BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd and Axiscades Technologies, and Bharat Forge Ltd in partnership with BEML Ltd and Data Patterns.

These firms have responded to a call for expressions of interest (EOI) by the DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) for building prototypes and supporting flight test and certification of the indigenous stealth fighter.