5th-gen fighter project: HAL out of race due to 'large order book'; Tata, L&T, Bharat Forge left in fray

NEW DELHI: India's premier aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is out of the race to develop India’s indigenous 5th-generation fighter jet under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme apparently due to its large order book.

It is the first time the maharatna PSU, which was involved in several big-ticket defence projects, won’t be part of India’s biggest advanced aircraft development programme. It is learnt HAL already has a big order book for the LCA (Tejas) aircraft programme and govt wants it to focus on those deliveries.




Following a March 2025 contract, HAL is also busy producing 156 additional LCHs for the Indian military, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2028. On Jan 29 this year, HAL had also signed contracts with Pawan Hans for the supply of 10 Dhruv NG helicopters valued at over Rs 1,800 crore. Another reason cited for HAL exit is that the country feels the need for a parallel assembly line of fighter aircraft in India.

Of the seven consortia of public and private sector firms that bid for the AMCA programme, three shortlisted ones are Tata, L&T (with BEL & Dynamatic Technologies) and Bharat Forge of Kalyani Group (with BEML & Data Patterns). Besides checking outstanding order books, the selection panel assessed consortia on technical expertise, manufacturing capability, development experience and financial strength.

The final partner, to be announced in three months, will work with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to build five AMCA prototypes by 2031 with the ministry’s initial allocation of Rs 15,000 crore. Once the prototypes are ready and have undergone the testing phase successfully, IAF is expected to make an order for 120 fighter jets with scope to expand.

Among the shortlisted three, only Tata has the experience of setting up a final assembly line which it has done for the C-295 transport aircraft in partnership with Airbus. Other firms have experience of making components, wings and fuselage.

Other contenders not out of the fray are Adani Defence & Aerospace with MTAR Technologies, engineering solutions provider Goodluck India Ltd with defence firm Axiscades Technologies Ltd, and state-run BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd; and another tie-up comprising ICOMM Tele Ltd.

Defence minister Rajnath Singh had last May decided to open up AMCA to both state-owned and private players.