If you’ve had enough of models and artist’s impressions, tough! It’s AeroIndia time, and that means the customary flood of official 3D art, wind-tunnel models etc. Got my hands on the brochure on the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) that’ll be handed out at Aero India this year: it contains these two impressions of India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, the country’s indigenous fifth generation concept stealth fighter, with the apparently frozen airframe config.
The interesting image though is the second one (below), which it calls the AMCA’s ‘non-stealth configuration’, deploying external weapons and stores including drop tanks, JDAM-like PGMs, air-to-air missiles and two pods. At any rate, it’s an indication of the design thought process: That designers at the ADA are looking at giving the AMCA external hardpoints in addition to internal bays.
The brochure comes with some updated literature on profile and capabilities the team is looking to give the AMCA. Brochures at air shows are usually the last place you want to look for solid data on concept programmes, but here’s the latest from Team AMCA:
Not every mission requires stealth. Even the F35 can take on loads on external pods in addition to internal bays. Makes the plane more versatile, stealth fighter/bomber in contested environment, plane old heavy in other roles
tis too fat
without VTOL capability this is useless, welcome to the world of F-35
Oh, is HAL/ DRDO incapable … !!
or
bureaucrats decided to buy from US ? after it's an old tech for US like Apache & Chinook ( to be phased out in 2 decades)
While US is aggressively pursuing new tech like Piasecki X-49.
While our leadership is being trained in US War college to strategically understand importance of US war pattern and weapon so that they can buy it and Hollywood movies will give the satisfaction
Get your head out of your behind
Chinese VTOL aircraft (home build)…. can DRDO & HAL 20,000 engineers/scientist do it ??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDednkHUAUY
without taking parts from US or Russia ??
Avionics is fine but VTOL engine & aircraft capability is extremely imp. for future ….
China had probably hacked US military files.. Just like they are hacking from..
Its just reverse engineering
Well, it's a powerpoint plane… By the way, Egypt is buying a combat proven plane that is probably the best in it's class on the market! Less than 3 month to finalize the decision and first to sign, first delivered.
VTOL is useless if the aircraft is bad, design a good aircraft and you have a winner.
IF, big IF
LCA is useless IF it will use K10 Engine or useless IF if uses GE engines
Dhruv is useless with its French controlled engines
VTOL is a capability which is & will be imp. where even Army has decreasing firing ranges
forget Airforce & Navy …. Commerce will make redundant sea ports and airports then
VTOL will be only viable option
Do Not Stall this blog with VTOL. No present engines provide complete stealth in VTOL
@aingam – I strongly India should not focus on building a 5th Gen fighter and this project. Would make more sense to build our own 4++ Gen fighter from the lesson we have learnt from the Tejas program.
Something similar on the lines of the F/A 18 Hornet program. Starting from Block A/B/C/D to the Super Hornet E/F and flight operation specific version 'Super Advanced Hornet'.
In the long term, this will bring down the various foreign models we have in our inventory along the challenges there bring to maintain such a diverse fleet.
India can then operate 2 fighter models like France; i.e. the Mirage & Rafale.
VTOL sounds like a great idea but can anyone actually name one VTOL jet which is as efficient and effective as a CTOL aircraft? No, because no such plane has been ever made. F-35B is considerably slower and heavier than the F-35A or C, not to mention less agile. The AMCA will be a great platform if HAL manage to make it easy to operate and maintain with high availability.
easy to operate and maintain with high availability …. !!
just like Dhruv and Killing valuable Indian soldiers life !!
anyway India has no choice but to take suffer from HAL / DRDO flawed policies of non-deliverable and inferior products
while India is not building any real capability !!
Looks like a good start, but we need to collaborate on the engine. We still don't have a decent engine, with the Kaveri missing in action. Without an engine, how can we possibly build a 5th gen fighter?
look like f-22
look like f-22
VTOL VTOL VTOL
Barking dogs seldom bite !!!!!
VTOL?
You want that toy too? VTOl means you desire to have smaller ships, to save money, spending more on aircraft instead.
Let me tell you something: a VTOL ac will eat dust any day when compared to a full fighter. They are half ass compromises in terms of performance and load carrying. You think a sea harrier can match a mig 29 even when comparing the last sea harrier models to the first mig 29 models?
We can have electromagnetic catapults but our AC should be the best, no compromises.
For vtols, its better to have good attack helis 😉
Shiv, can you please upload that brochure? On scribd?
I'm very fascinated by this aircraft and want every little details about it.
AMCA baseline design is not imaginative enough. An another F22 clone, just like J31 or Japan, but all 3 are decades later when US will be introducing 6th gen by then.
I would have evolved the LCA Mk2 design and make it much longer to accommodate a big weapon bay ahead of twin engines. I would have made it much bigger and much more powerful with two 45000lb F35 engines. Throw in a bigger delta wing. Last make it stealthier with Pelikan canted tails and an all composite airframe.
The benefits are you are building upon lessons learned from LCA not restarting from scratch. Take a page from the big Avro Vulcan which is reputed to have a low RCS as well as the ill fated Avro CF105 interceptor.