Rajnath Singh lays foundation for fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft facility at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh

Tirupati: 'Aatmanirbharta' (self-reliance) is no longer a choice but a critical imperative to safeguard national interests amid global turbulence, defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday after laying the foundation stone for a range of strategic aerospace and defence projects near Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh.Providing a snapshot of the sector’s progress, he said India’s defence production has surged from ₹46,000 crore in 2014 to nearly ₹1.54 lakh crore, with these figures expected to hit ₹1.75 lakh crore shortly. Defence exports have also meteorically risen to about ₹40,000 crore, he said.Accompanied by AP chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Singh laid the foundation stone for the Core Integration and Flight Testing Centre at Puttaparthi to fast-track the development of the fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and other future indigenous platforms.The defence minister said the establishment of the ₹15,000-crore AMCA programme and the ₹2,000-crore Core Integration and Flight Testing Centre will place the region in an exclusive global league capable of producing fifth-generation fighter jets. He emphasised that these aircraft will be designed to neutralise threats with extreme precision, marking a milestone in the country’s development journey.Singh also laid the foundation for a naval systems manufacturing facility at T Sirasapalli village in Anakapalli district to cater to the requirements of advanced underwater weapons and naval combat systems. Grounding ceremonies for the Defence Energetics Facility and the Ammunition and Electric Fuse Plant at Madakasira in Sri Sathya Sai district were also performed.Singh said the ₹480-crore naval systems manufacturing facility by Bharat Dynamics Limited will focus on autonomous underwater vehicles and next-generation torpedoes, significantly reducing the nation’s reliance on imported maritime components. The ₹1,500-crore Defence Energetics Facility by Agneyastra Energetics, and the ₹1,200-crore Ammunition and Electric Fuse Plant by HFCL Limited in Madakasira are both aimed at securing the domestic supply chain for future combat scenarios, he added.Additionally, a consortium of eight drone companies joined forces to establish the ‘Drone City’ proposed by the state govt in Kurnool district. Predicting that the ‘Drone City’ would soon become the national hub for drone technology, comparable to Bengaluru’s status in the IT sector, he commended young entrepreneurs for their vision, noting that drone technology is a game-changer in modern warfare and beyond. “These units are expected to serve as ‘growth poles’ and will create massive local employment, besides integrating academic institutions like engineering colleges and ITIs into a high-tech ecosystem,” Singh said.He also warned against “misinformation warfare”, urging citizens to stay vigilant against “rumours designed to create domestic chaos”, stressing that national security is now a collective “whole of country”.