Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and state-run Bharat Electronics (BEL), together under a consortium will be submitting an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme in 'coming weeks' to support an indigenous 5th-generation fighter aircraft, a company statement by EPC and manufacturing major said on September 24.
Through the partnership, L&T’s expertise in strategic aerospace platforms and BEL’s experience in defence electronics will be combined to help develop of a 5th-gen fighter aircraft in India. In the past, L&T and BEL have played crucial role in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft programme by supplying major aero-structure modules and mission-critical avionics. L&T said the consortium will 'build on this legacy' and ensure 'timely delivery' of a world-class aerospace platform for the Indian Air Force.
SN Subrahmanyan, Chairman & Managing Director, L&T said the collaboration with BEL is a 'significant leap' in its commitment to India's defence manufacturing. "We are honoured to be working with BEL to deliver next-generation technologies for the Indian Air Force. Both the organisations are leaders in our respective domains and our combined efforts will play a crucial role in bolstering national security and advancing self-reliance in defence technologies."
The AMCA programme is seen as an ambitious step in advancing India’s defence capabilities.
Manoj Jain, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Electronics said, "Our collaboration with L&T is a crucial step in realising this vision (of defence Atmanirbharta). With L&T’s engineering and systems integration capabilities and BEL’s expertise in defence electronics, we are confident of delivering a world-class solution that will serve the Indian Air Force for decades to come."
About AMCA
The AMCA programme is aimed at developing an Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India’s indigenous fifth-generation, twin-engine, multi-role stealth fighter, through industry partnership - by DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) - for subsystems, avionics, and other components.
“Under the AMCA project, the plan is to develop five prototypes, which will be followed by series production. It is a key milepost in the history of the Make-in-India programme,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said in May 2025 during the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Business Summit. The Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the fighter jet programme in 2024 with an initial development cost estimated at around Rs 15,000 crore.
Some news reports had previously said that India will join hands with France under a government-to-government deal to jointly design and manufacture a new 120 kilonewton (KN) engine for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). The fifth gen fighter aircraft is being aimed to for an induction into IAF by 2036.
Among the latest fifth generation fighter jets are the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor and Lockheed Martin F-35 (USA), Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA/Sukhoi Su-57 (Russia) and Chengdu J-20 (China).
Year of Reforms
The Ministry of Defence has declared 2025 as the ‘Year of Reforms’, with a focus on laying the foundation for
advancements in defence preparedness, and to transform the Armed Forces into a technologically advanced force capable of multi-domain and integrated operations.
In light of the strain on global defence supply chains due to geopolitical conflicts, and Trump's tariffs, the cost for defence contractors have increased, leading to delays in production and maintenance. The government to keen to build a more resilient supply chain of products and components, with an emphasis on indigenisation.
The Centre has set a target for domestic defence production at Rs 1.60 lakh crore for FY26 and Rs 3 lakh crore by FY29. The budget for Defence has seen an increase of around 4.5 percent FY26, taking the overall budget to Rs 1.80 lakh crore, of which Rs 1.49 lakh crore is planned to be spent on capital acquisition to modernise the forces. Rs 1.12 lakh crore have been earmarked for domestic industry, and about Rs 15,000 crore has been earmarked for R&D projects to
develop new technologies along with private industry.
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