Making Of India's Stealth Fighter

The design for India’s fifth-generation, low-observability fighter jet is ready. The team behind it explains the process and how the Tejas experience helped

- Pradip R. Sagar

The circular, three-storey building is quite unremarkable. But, it is home to something hush-hush and hi-tech. It is the headquarters of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in Vimanapura, an eastern suburb of Bengaluru and an aeronautical hub. This is where India’s top defence scientists, helped by 250-odd assistants, are building a fifth-generation stealth fighter.

Stealth technology has so far been dominated by the Americans. Even Russia and China have not developed the capability. Unsurprisingly, the ADA HQ is sheathed in multi-layer security cover. THE WEEK became the first publication to be invited to Vimanapura to report on the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

Stealth aircraft are designed to avoid detection by enemy radars or air-defence systems. As a fifth-generation stealth fighter, the AMCA is designed for low-observability. That is, it would not be easy to detect it and even when detected the AMCA can ‘disappear’ and get close to the target, giving the enemy little reaction time.

As Girish S. Deodhare, director general, ADA, explains: “Stealth aircraft are required in the early stages of war to take out the enemy’s air defences. Once you destroy the air defences, other fighters like the LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) can take over.” He said the design of the AMCA was complete. “Now, it is just a matter of making the jet,” he added. A fighter jet has close to 15,000 components and the design of each part has been finalised.