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Defence & Security
Mahesh

10/03/24 09:48 AM IST

India’s indigenous fifth-gen fighter jet AMCA

In News
  • The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared a Rs 15,000 crore project to design and develop the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), India’s fifth-generation fighter multirole fighter jet.
Features of AMCA
  • STEALTH: The 25-tonne twin-engine aircraft, which will be bigger that other fighters in the Indian Air Force inventory, will have advanced stealth features to avoid detection by enemy radar.
  • The aircraft would be on par or even superior to other fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft in use globally.
  • FUEL & WEAPONS: 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.
  • ENGINE: The AMCA Mk1 variant will have the US-built GE414 engine of the 90 kilonewton (kN) class, while the more advanced AMCA Mk2 will fly on the more powerful 110kN engine, which will be developed indigenously by DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) in collaboration with a foreign defence major.
  • India has been talking with Safran SA of France, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of aircraft engines and related equipment, in order to finalise the roadmap for the development of the combat aircraft engine.
  • Other features such as a diverterless supersonic inlet for controlling air flow into the engines, and a serpentine air intake duct to shield the engines from radar emissions, are likely to be part of the AMCA.
Significance
  • The initial plan was to jointly develop the aircraft with Russia under a Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) programme. However, India withdrew from the FGFA project in 2018.
  • The AMCA will be India’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter aircraft. The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is a 4.5-generation single-engine multirole aircraft.
  • The aircraft will have a low electro-magnetic signature, which will make it difficult for enemy radar to detected it.
  • 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.
  • Stealth features such as an internal weapons bay and a bigger internal fuel tank are part of fifth-generation aircraft like AMCA.
  • Up to four long-range air-to-air missiles and multiple precision guided munitions can be carried in the internal weapons bay, with a payload of 1,500 kg.
  • External fuel tanks and externally-attached weapons leave a huge signature and are easy to detect for radar. The special material that will be used on the aircraft surface will divert the radar signature instead of reflecting it back.
  • Another important aspect would be to ensure a higher utilisation time and smaller serviceability or maintenance periods for the aircraft.
  • 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.
  • Only a few countries have built a fifth-generation stealth fighter aircraft. 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.
Source- Indian Express

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