L&T AND BEL JOIN HANDS TO BID FOR MANUFACTURING INDIA'S 5TH GEN FIGHTER JETS

and have joined hands to participate in the government's Rs 15,000 crore fighter jet manufacturing programme. This marks the first time that a private sector-led consortium has entered the race to develop and manufacture a platform conceived by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The competition to produce India’s ambitious 5th-generation fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), has intensified amongst private players. One of them is Adani Defence & Aerospace, which is exploring further tie-ups for participation in this programme, while HAL is also looking to onboard a couple from 28 private players who have shown interest to become part in its consortium. The deadline for submitting bids for India’s AMCA project’s full-scale engineering development (FSED) was extended to September 30 after no private sector consortiums responded to the EoI initially released on June 18, 2025.