{"id":40025,"date":"2024-07-03T07:34:22","date_gmt":"2024-07-03T02:04:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=40025"},"modified":"2025-10-10T12:07:48","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T06:37:48","slug":"amca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/amca\/","title":{"rendered":"Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Prototype Expected by 2028-29"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>What are Fifth-generation fighter jets?<\/li>\n<li>What is Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<p>The Defence Ministry is planning to involve the private sector significantly in the design and development of the indigenous fifth-generation fighter aircraft, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). This involvement is crucial for the timely execution of the project, with the first prototype expected by 2028-29, according to official sources.<\/p>\n<h2>What are Fifth-generation fighter jets?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Fifth-generation fighter jets are designed to carry out a range of missions, such as air-to-air combat and ground attack.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They have plain surfaces, specially shaped exhaust nozzles, and engines located in the plane&#8217;s body to hide heat signatures.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>They also have special radars to detect the aircraft&#8217;s own radar emissions.<\/li>\n<li>Only a few countries have built a fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The list of the aircraft currently in service includes the F-22 Raptor and F-35A Lightning II of the US, the Chinese J-20 Mighty Dragon, and the Russian Sukhoi Su-57.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is India\u2019s fifth-generation fighter multirole fighter jet.\n<ul>\n<li>This aircraft will be bigger than other fighters in the Indian Air Force inventory.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The aircraft will put India in a select group of nations that have their own fifth-generation fighter aircraft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Organisations involved<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/defence-research-and-development-organisation-drdo\/\" target=\"_blank\">Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)<\/a> will be the nodal agency for executing the programme and designing the aircraft.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>It will be manufactured by state-owned <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/hindustan-aeronautics-limited-hal\/\" target=\"_blank\">Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Features<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Stealth<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The 25-tonne twin-engine aircraft will have advanced stealth features to avoid detection by enemy radar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fuel &amp; Weapons<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The aircraft will have a large, concealed internal fuel tank of 6.5-tonne capacity, and an internal weapons bay for a range of weapons, including indigenous weapons, to be buried in its belly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Engine<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The AMCA Mk1 variant will have the US-built GE414 engine of the 90 kilonewton (kN) class.<\/li>\n<li>The more advanced AMCA Mk2 will fly on the more powerful 110kN engine.<\/li>\n<li>This will be developed indigenously by DRDO\u2019s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) in collaboration with a foreign defence major.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Significance of Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>India\u2019s indigenous fifth-generation fighter aircraft<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The AMCA will be India\u2019s indigenous fifth-generation fighter aircraft.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is a 4.5-generation single-engine multirole aircraft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Advance stealth feature<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>What will set this aircraft apart from the existing fourth-generation is primarily its stealth features.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The aircraft will have a low electro-magnetic signature, which will make it difficult for enemy radar to detected it.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>At the same time, it will have powerful sensors and new weapons, so it is able to register the signature of enemy aircraft and take them out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Higher utilisation time and smaller serviceability<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Another important aspect would be to ensure a higher utilisation time and smaller serviceability or maintenance periods for the aircraft.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This will be aided by the inclusion of a comprehensive Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) system to keep track of multiple structural components, and to assess the condition of the aircraft in real-time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>IAF\u2019s dwindling numbers<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The IAF currently has around 30 fighter squadrons against the sanctioned strength of 42.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>This number is expected to go down further as squadrons of MiG-21s, MiG-29s, Jaguars, and Mirage 2000s are scheduled to be phased out by the middle of the next decade.<\/li>\n<li>The IAF has indicated that it requires seven squadrons of the AMCA to begin with.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Strategic significance<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>China has made great progress in the development and deployment of fifth-generation fighter aircraft.<\/li>\n<li>It has recently deployed its twin-engine J-20 FGFA in Tibet bordering India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clearance from Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The AMCA project, sanctioned by the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/ccs\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)<\/a> in March 2024, is set to develop a 25-tonne twin-engine stealth aircraft with advanced features, aiming for a prototype by 2028-29.<\/li>\n<li>The development of AMCA is planned to be carried out in two phases:\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>a MK1 with the General Electric F414 engine and\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>a Mk2 with a more powerful engine planned to be co-developed in partnership with Saran of France for which discussions are under way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Q.1. What is Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)?<\/h3>\n<p>The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is an essential decision-making body in the Indian government, focusing on national security and defense policies. It oversees strategic planning, defense procurement, and coordination of intelligence and internal security matters.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3>Q.2. What is Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas?<\/h3>\n<p>The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is a single-engine, multirole, 4.5-generation fighter jet developed by India&#8217;s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It enhances the Indian Air Force&#8217;s operational capabilities with advanced avionics and weapons systems.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/advanced-medium-combat-aircraft-prototype-expected-by-2028-29\/article68360061.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft prototype expected by 2028-29<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/india-indigenous-fifth-gen-fighter-jet-amca-9204814\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Indian Express<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Learn about India&#8217;s upcoming AMCA, a fifth-generation fighter jet prototype expected by 2028-29.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40026,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40025","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}