05/05/2026
1 lakh crore investment in puttaparthi
• India’s 5th-generation stealth fighter jet production planned in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh
• Around ₹1 lakh crore investment expected for the project
• 600 acres allotted to DRDO to manufacture ~140 AMCA fighter jets
• First prototype target: Sept 2027 | Maiden flight: Sept 2028 | Certification: Mar 2034
• Tata Advanced Systems, L&T and Bharat Forge shortlisted
NEXT-GEN TAKEOFF
Fighter Jet Production Flies to Andhra Facility
Puttaparthi project likely to get ₹1L cr investments; land to make 140 AMCA allotted to DRDO
Nidhi Sharma
New Delhi: India’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jets will be manufactured in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, and the state cabinet has approved allotment of 600 acres to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for the project.
About 140 advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) are expected to be manufactured at the facility. The project is expected to draw investments of about ₹1 lakh crore, said central government officials.
The decision comes a year after Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu made a pitch to defence minister Rajnath Singh for setting up an AMCA production unit in his state. ET was the first to report on Naidu’s pitch on May 24, 2025.
Systems design, testing and assembly of modules of the AMCA will be done at the facility of Bengaluru-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), an autonomous body under the DRDO, according to the people cited earlier.
Flight Plan
• Advanced medium combat aircraft overall cost: ₹15,803 cr
• Seven expressions of interest evaluated
• Tata Advanced Systems, L&T and Bharat Forge shortlisted
• Aeronautical Development Agency to issue request for proposal
Targets
• First prototype in Sept 2027
• Maiden flight in Sept 2028
• Certification in Mar 2034