India approves full development of fifth-generation fighter

Editor’s note: Vivek Raghuvanshi, a journalist and freelancer to Defense News for more than three decades, was jailed in May 2023 by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation on charges of espionage. The Indian government has released minimal information on his arrest. Sightline Media Group, which owns Defense News, has not seen any evidence to substantiate these charges and repudiates attacks on press freedom.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand — India’s Cabinet Committee on Security has given a green light to continue development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet.

The state-run Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. are leading this development effort. The committee early this month granted the project 150 billion rupees (U.S. $2 billion) to fund the twin-engine AMCA’s full-scale design and development, flight testing and certification.

Krishna Rajendra, AMCA project director at the Aeronautical Development Agency, said five prototypes are expected. He also confirmed the fighter’s maiden flight should occur before the end of 2028.

The Indian Air Force previously said it would like seven squadrons of these stealthy fighters. Although the government has not formally stated when AMCA will commence series production, Indian media are quoting a date of 2035.

K.P Sanjeev Kumar, a former Indian naval aviation test pilot and aviation commentator, told Defense News “an optimistic and realistic timeframe for final operational clearance would be 2040 or beyond.” Final operational clearance refers to an aircraft attaining its full capabilities so it is ready for service.

The Air Force’s first two AMCA squadrons will receive Mk-1 aircraft, powered by General Electric F414 engines that produce 22,000 pounds of thrust.

Later, the next five squadrons will receive the AMCA Mk-2, with bigger engines producing nearer 25,000 pounds of thrust for a supersonic cruising capability. The new engine with thrust vector control will be co-developed with a foreign partner.

Development of the AMCA commenced in 2008, and its design was finalized in 2022. Last December, it successfully passed a platform-level critical design review.

This is India’s second domestic fighter program. However, the preceding Tejas fighter’s maiden flight occurred in 2001, and the first Tejas entered an operational squadron 15 years later — suggesting AMCA’s timeline may shift. India also suffered a costly failure when it attempted to develop the Kaveri engine for the Tejas light fighter.

Sanjeev Kumar stressed the importance of the AMCA to India.

“[They are] required as of yesterday, given the woefully short numbers of squadrons with gen-four aircraft and below, plus the looming threat of growing Chinese aggression,” he said.

Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the funding amount for the AMCA’s full-scale design and development, flight testing and certification. That figure is 150 billion rupees (U.S. $2 billion).

Gordon Arthur is an Asia correspondent for Defense News. After a 20-year stint working in Hong Kong, he now resides in New Zealand. He has attended military exercises and defense exhibitions in about 20 countries around the Asia-Pacific region.

编者按：维韦克·拉古万什（Vivek Raghuvanshi）是一位为《防务新闻》（Defense News）撰稿三十余年的记者和自由撰稿人，于2023年5月被印度中央调查局以间谍罪名逮捕入狱。印度政府对其逮捕事件的公开信息极少。《防务新闻》的母公司Sightline Media Group表示，他们尚未发现任何证据支持这些指控，并强烈谴责对新闻自由的攻击。

新西兰基督城——印度内阁安全委员会已批准继续研发印度自主研发的第五代战斗机——先进中型战斗机。

国有的航空发展局和印度斯坦航空有限公司正在牵头开展这项研发工作。本月初，委员会批准了该项目1500亿卢比（约合20亿美元）的资金，用于资助双引擎AMCA的全面设计研发、飞行测试和认证。

印度航空发展局（ADA）AMCA项目主管克里希纳·拉金德拉表示，预计将制造五架原型机。他还确认，该战斗机的首飞应该会在2028年底前进行。

印度空军此前曾表示希望采购七个中队的这种隐形战斗机。虽然政府尚未正式宣布AMCA何时开始批量生产，但印度媒体报道称，预计时间是2035年。

印度前海军航空试飞员兼航空评论员KP Sanjeev Kumar告诉《防务新闻》：“最终作战许可的乐观且现实的时间表将是2040年或更晚。”最终作战许可指的是飞机达到其全部性能，从而可以投入使用。

空军首批两个 AMCA 中队将接收 Mk-1 型飞机，该飞机由通用电气 F414 发动机提供动力，可产生 22,000 磅的推力。

随后，接下来的五个中队将接收AMCA Mk-2型战斗机，该机配备推力更大的发动机，可产生接近25,000磅的推力，从而具备超音速巡航能力。这款新型推力矢量控制发动机将与一家外国合作伙伴共同研发。

AMCA 的研发始于 2008 年，其设计于 2022 年最终确定。去年 12 月，它成功通过了平台级关键设计评审。

这是印度的第二个国产战斗机项目。然而，前代“光辉”（Tejas）战斗机于2001年首飞，首架“光辉”战斗机在15年后才正式加入作战中队——这表明AMCA的研发时间表可能会有所调整。此外，印度在为“光辉”轻型战斗机研发“卡维里”（Kaveri）发动机时也遭遇了代价惨重的失败。

桑吉夫·库马尔强调了AMCA对印度的重要性。

“鉴于拥有第四代及以下机型的飞行中队数量严重不足，加上中国日益增长的侵略性威胁迫在眉睫，从昨天起，这些飞机就势在必行了。”他说。

更正：此前报道中关于AMCA全面设计研发、飞行测试和认证所需资金数额有误。正确数额为1500亿卢比（约合20亿美元）。

戈登·阿瑟是《防务新闻》的亚洲特派记者。在香港工作20年后，他现居新西兰。他曾到访亚太地区约20个国家，参加过军事演习和防务展览。