As many as 28 private sector firms have lined up to partner with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the highly-anticipated development of India’s fifth-generation stealth fighter, and the aircraft maker has formed a committee to draw up a shortlist of a maximum of two companies to form a consortium to pursue one of the country’s most significant military projects, HAL chairman DK Sunil said on Sunday.
The firms have submitted their responses to the requirements outlined by HAL in a recent tender for a possible partnership to participate in the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) competition, and the panel is going through their pitch with a fine-tooth comb before the state-run firm can finalise the private sector player it plans to work with for the project.
The deadline for HAL to form a consortium and respond to a call for expressions of interest (EOI) by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) for the AMCA programme is September 30. The ADA, which comes under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), is executing the programme through industry partnership.
“The committee has evaluated the private firms on metrics such as capability, technology, financial standing and prior experience, and its report is almost ready. The terms and conditions lay down that a consortium can have a maximum of three partners. We will respond to the EOI this week with either one or two partners,” he said adding that almost all major firms are keen to tie up with HAL.
The ADA invited EOI in June to shortlist Indian companies capable of building prototypes and supporting flight test and certification of the indigenous stealth fighter, weeks after the defence ministry unveiled its long-awaited plan to fast-track its development and announced that the execution model will be competitive and provide equal opportunities to public and private sector firms.
The applicant may be a single company, a joint venture or a consortium.
The qualifying terms and conditions related to the financial performance of companies in the EOI issued by ADA are such that it will be “very tricky” for HAL to go it alone, Sunil said.
“There are clauses that have loaded the dice against HAL. The EOI says if a company’s order book is three times its turnover, then it will get zero marks. In HAL’s case, it is almost 8X. It means someone who has fewer orders will get more marks. I don’t know why they have done this. Still, we will go with some partnerships and pursue the project,” the HAL chief said.
The approval of the industry partnership model in May by defence minister Rajnath Singh came at a critical moment as HAL — the sole manufacturer of fighter jets in the country — was till then believed to be the front runner for the project. The execution model has unlocked new possibilities for the local aerospace industry, including firms such as Larsen & Toubro, Adani Defence and Aerospace, the Mahindra Group and Tata Advanced Systems Limited.
The entity shortlisted by ADA must be capable of setting up a manufacturing facility for the series production of AMCA, and the duration of the contract for development, prototyping, flight test and certification should not exceed eight years.
“After evaluating the responses to the EOI, ADA will issue a request for quotation for building five prototypes and one structural test specimen before further work begins,” Sunil said.
The first prototype is expected to make its maiden flight in 2029, and AMCA’s development is likely to be completed by 2034 before it enters production a year later.
Speeding up the programme is critical as China has already deployed the J-20 fifth-generation fighters. It is also rolling out the J-35 stealth fighters that Pakistan is looking at buying, and it has tested two so-called sixth-generation platforms designated J-36 and J-50.
Last year, the Cabinet Committee on Security approved the AMCA’s design and prototype development at a cost of around ₹15,000 crore. The IAF’s modernisation map envisages the deployment of around 120 stealth fighters (six squadrons) 2035 onwards.
The first two squadrons will consist of the Mk-1 version powered by the American F-414 engines, while the rest will have the more advanced Mk-2 version equipped with an even more powerful engine to be built in India with French collaboration.
The government is likely to soon approve a joint project involving French firm Safran and India’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a lab under the DRDO, to develop and produce a 120-kilonewton thrust class engine to power the AMCA. The Safran-GTRE combine, HT learns, will develop nine prototypes in a time frame of 12 years, with 100% transfer of technology and intellectual property rights to India.
The 25-tonne AMCA will be a swing-role fighter with increased survivability in combat, advanced avionics, smart weapons stored internally, top-end mission computers, 360-degree situational awareness, and super-cruise capability that will allow it to fly at supersonic speeds for extended periods without using fuel-guzzling afterburners.
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