What are the prospects for AMCA ? I don't think the previous plane India tried their hand at - Tejas LCA was a successful project ? I'm out of the loop on that one.
Projects like Tejas, the Kaveri engine, and AMCA are not just defense initiatives, they’re foundational steps in India’s journey toward self-reliance in advanced aerospace and military technologies.
Innovation is a continuous, evolving process. It's not fair to constantly compare our progress with that of the U.S., Europe, or Russia—nations that have had decades of R&D, massive funding, and early advantages that allowed them to commercialize and refine their technologies. China for instance despite its immense investments is still grappling with the development of a truly indigenous 5th-gen fighter jet engine. The path is hard for EVERYONE.
India's journey is like reaching for the moon and landing among the stars. Each project whether successful or not teaches us invaluable lessons. Tejas may not yet be at par with the world's top combat jets, but it is a major leap forward. Once powered by an indigenous engine, it will be nearly 90% made in India—a remarkable achievement by any standard. Similarly, with AMCA, we must be realistic. Even if all goes as planned, by the time India fields a 5.5-generation fighter, the U.S. and China may already have fully operational 6th-gen fleets. But does that diminish our progress? Out of nearly 200 countries, only a few have even come close to what we are attempting. An indigenous 5th-gen AMCA will place India firmly among the elite few.
And AMCA is not an isolated project. It represents the convergence of hundreds of cutting-edge R&D efforts in materials science, stealth, propulsion, avionics, and systems integration. It’s like a cinematic epic directed by a top Director - years of unseen, complex work culminating in a dramatic reveal. And some global powers won’t take it lightly. There are already murmurs of attempts to derail our efforts whether through sabotage, subversion, or geopolitical distractions. The day India masters the mass production of world-class fighter jets and missile systems will mark a turning point in global geopolitics. It will disrupt the current balance of power not just challenging Western dominance but also unsettling traditional allies like Russia.
History shows that the world rarely welcomes a disruptor. But India was never meant to merely follow it was always destined to lead and redefine the rules when its time came.