Mumbai: Engineering major L&T has announced a partnership with defence giant Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to collaborate for the development of India’s 5th generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). The consortium aims to participate in the Expression of Interest notice issued by the Government of India’s (GoI) Aeronautical Development Agency by submitting a response in the coming weeks.
“The collaboration with BEL marks a significant leap in our commitment to the modernisation of India’s defence capabilities. We are honoured to be working with BEL to deliver next-generation technologies for the Indian Air Force. Both the organisations are leaders in our respective domains and our combined efforts will play a crucial role in bolstering national security and advancing self-reliance in defence technologies,” S N Subrahmanyan, Chairman & Managing Director at L&T, said in a press release to the bourses.
“The AMCA project represents India’s growing capabilities in defence technology. Our collaboration with L&T is a crucial step in realising this vision. With L&T’s engineering and systems integration capabilities and BEL’s expertise in defence electronics, we are confident of delivering a world-class solution that will serve the Indian Air Force for decades to come,” Manoj Jain, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Electronics Limited, added.
L&T and BEL have already collaborated earlier for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, supplying major aero-structure modules and mission-critical avionics and electronics systems. Building on this, this collaboration aims to boost the Indian Air Force’s fleet strength at a time when Pakistan and China have surged ahead with their fleets and entrenched security cooperation.
The desire to develop a homegrown fighter jet has been a distant dream, with inordinate delays and supply chain bottlenecks in the homegrown Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) fighter jet programme have forced the government to rely on imports. The sense of urgency is real, as India is currently completely dependent on imports for its fighter jets.
