India to get 3 more Apaches this month, says defence secretary

AMCA deal expected in 3–6 months; prototype timeline is 10 years

India will get three more Apache attack helicopters from the United States this month, defence secretary RK Singh confirmed in an interview to CNBC-TV18 on July 7, adding the two countries would likely renew the 10-year pact later this year.

India in 2015 signed a deal for 22 Apache helicopters, which were delivered by 2020 and are in operation with the IAF.

The upcoming delivery adds to India’s ongoing push to modernise and expand its aerial combat capability.

Singh also said India and the United States would likely renew the 10-year bilateral defence agreement later in the year.

The long-term framework is expected to bolster cooperation across multiple domains — technology transfer, joint defence production, strategic logistics, and coordinated military drills.

Singh also confirmed progress on India’s fifth-generation fighter aircraft programme. The contract for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is likely to be awarded in the next three to six months, he said.

Once cleared, it would mark a major milestone for India’s indigenous military aviation programme. The development and flight testing of AMCA prototypes is expected to take about 10 years, Singh added.

India is also exploring short-term acquisition of fifth-generation fighters from key allies, signalling a dual-track approach to meet immediate and future requirements of the IAF.

Engine partnership with Safran?

Separately, top defence sources have told Moneycontrol that India is in talks with French aerospace firm Safran to co-develop advanced fighter jet engines.

The move is aimed at boosting indigenous capabilities, especially for the next-generation Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-2.

The Tejas Mk-1 jets are powered by GE Aerospace’s F404-IN20 engines, supplied to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) but have been plagued by delays.

Supply chain hurdles from the US firm have delayed production timelines, prompting India to look for alternatives.

An engine collaboration with Safran is seen as a crucial step towards achieving self-reliance in fighter engine manufacturing, a key bottleneck in India’s defence production ambitions.

Improving India’s defence capabilities had acquired an urgency especially after the intense four-day military exchange with Pakistan in early May.

Operation Sindoor which saw India strike deep into Pakistan’s territory reinforced the importance of air defence in the modern warfare. The possibility of a two-front war, Pakistan on one side and China on the other, is also a driving factor, as most of the equipment used by Islamabad in the recent exchange was Chinese.