When will India get its first 5th-generation stealth fighter? DRDO chief answers

NEW DELHI: India is set to receive its first fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), by 2035, DRDO chairman Samir V Kamat said on Sunday.
Acknowledging the long timelines typically associated with developing cutting-edge fighter jet programs, Kamat said, "If you look at any programme anywhere in the world, it takes 10 to 15 years to develop a new platform. So we have started this journey only in 2024, when the CCS sanctioned the project. So it will take ten years and we have committed to deliver the platform by 2035…"
"We want to start an AERO engine programme and we want to collaborate with a foreign OEM to cut down the risks of development. AERO engine technology is a very complex technology, however we have learnt a lot from Kaveri. Kaveri was a fourth generation engine and the current engine technology has moved to sixth generation, so we want to work with foreign OEM to reduce the risks as well as cut down the time for development. Hopefully, we will have some good news on this in the next few months..," he added.

Talking about other crucial projects that are set to be completed in year, Kamat said, "There are many projects which are now moving towards maturity. In the next six months to one year, you will see many of our systems getting inducted. VSHORAD, MPATGM, we have LCA Mark II, which will have its first flight, so there are many systems which are now moving towards maturity and in the next six months to one year you will see many of them getting inducted."
The comments came after the defence organisation, for the first time, demonstrated its ability to neutralize fixed-wing aircraft, missiles, and swarm drones using a 30-kilowatt laser-based weapon system.
"This is just the beginning of the journey. The synergy that this lab has achieved with other DRDO labs, industry and academia, I am sure we will reach our destination soon... We are also working on other high energy systems like high energy microwaves, electromagnetic pulse. So we are working on a number of technologies that will give us Star Wars capability. What you saw today was one of the components of Star Wars technologies...," Kamat said.
With this breakthrough, India has joined a select group of nations—such as the US, China, and Russia—that have successfully showcased similar advanced directed-energy capabilities.