India Homegrown AMCA: India has decided it does not want to quickly buy a new fifth-generation fighter jet from either the United States or Russia right now. Instead of rushing into a deal, the country wants to focus on making its own advanced stealth jet at home. The government says its main goal is to develop the HAL Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, also called AMCA.
At the Rising Bharat Summit 2026, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh spoke clearly about this plan. He said India’s main focus in this category is building the AMCA. Even though big aerospace companies from America and Russia are trying hard to sell their most modern jets to India, the government does not want to make a fast decision just because of pressure from outside.
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Singh made the country’s position very clear when he said, “Our fifth-generation fighter will be the HAL AMCA. We haven’t taken a call yet on Russian or American offers,”. He also repeated that India is strongly committed to “Aatmanirbharta” (self-reliance) in defence. This means India wants to depend more on its own skills and companies instead of buying everything from other nations.
Filling Gaps
India still needs more aircraft right now because many old jets have retired. To fix this problem, the government is moving ahead with the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft or MRFA, programme.
Under this plan, India is looking closely at the Dassault Rafale. The idea is to buy 114 new jets to help increase the number of fighter squadrons in the Indian Air Force. The Air Force has fewer squadrons than it needs, so these jets would help fill that gap.
But there is one big rule. If India signs a deal under the MRFA programme, most of the work must happen inside India.
- Technology Transfer: Ensuring the “brain” of the aircraft can be understood and maintained locally.
- Indigenous Content: Increasing the percentage of Indian-made components over the life of the contract.
- Industrial Growth: Building a robust domestic ecosystem for long-term maintenance and upgrades.
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Changes in the AMCA Plan
Recent reports from early 2026 show that the AMCA project may now be handled a bit differently. To make sure the first flight happens by 2029, the government has reportedly chosen private companies to take a leading role in building the first prototypes. These companies include Tata Advanced Systems, Larsen & Toubro, and Bharat Forge.
Earlier, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, also known as HAL, usually had full control over such big defence projects. Now the plan seems to be more flexible. HAL is still expected to play a very important role, especially when it comes to mass production later on, but private firms may lead the early development stage.
Even though the official focus is still fully on the AMCA, some experts believe India might think about buying a small number of foreign jets as a temporary solution. They say India could consider Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57 or America’s F-35 if security threats grow faster than expected.
One reason is China’s growing fleet of J-20 stealth fighters. If the regional situation becomes more tense before the AMCA is ready in the mid-2030s, India might need a short-term answer.
