India, new fighter jet (AMCA) Advanced Medium Combat Jet

HAL AMCA, The Advanced Medium Combat Jet is India’s next indigenous fighter jet programme. This fighter jet (HAL AMCA) is expected to take off by 2032. To give itself an edge in the possibilities of India-Pakistan or India-China War, India is developing a new fighter jet, which is developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) as the design firm and manufacturing carried out by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The HAL Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is an Indian programme to develop a fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

 The Indian Air Force has proposed building an indigenous fifth generation stealth aircraft, variously known as the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), or Advanced Medium Combat Stealth Aircraft (AMCSA), but it still remains at the conceptual stage. It is being developed by an aerospace industry team which consists of the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) as the design firm with manufacturing carried out by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) as the primary contractor and main assembly firm. India’s modern stealth fighter jet is expected to make its maiden flight in 2032, "The AMCA will feature geometric stealth and will initially fly with two GE-414 engines. We expect the first flight in 2032. The source added that the AMCA might later incorporate material stealth.

And It is a single-seat, twin-engine, stealth all weather multirole fighter aircraft. Feasibility study on AMCA and the preliminary design stage have been completed. The project awaits approval to begin design and development stage. In mid 2018, it was reported first flight of a full scale prototype is scheduled to occur in 2032. The most recent CAD model of aircraft appeared in Aero India 2019. A total of four prototypes are planned initially and first flight was reported to be likely before 2025.

AMCA Specifications 

S.NO	TYPE	PARAMETER
1	Role	Stealth multirole fighter
2	National origin	India
3	Manufacturer	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
4	Designer
5	Aeronautical Development Agency, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
6	Status	Under Development
7	Primary users	Indian Air Force Indian Navy
8	Crew	One pilot
9	Length	17.2m
10	Height	4.8m
11	Wing area	39.9m2
12	Empty weight	17,273 kg) (estimated)
13	Max take-off weight	29,465 kg (estimated)
14	Powerplant	2 × Undecided afterburning turbofan
15	Maximum speed	2,656 km/h
16	Range	3,241km
17	Ferry range	5,324 km
18	Service ceiling	18,000 m
19	Rate of climb	230 m/s
20	Wing loading	738.5 kg/m2
21	Guns	23 mm GSh-23 cannon
22	Hardpoints	10 nos
23	Missile	Brahmos NG

The Medium Combat Aircraft [MCA] was envisioned as a replacement for the British Jaguar and Mirage 2000 the IAF flies, which as of 2002 were to be phased out by 2015. Development costs were expected to be over US$2 billion. As of mid-1997 the MCA design concept had no vertical stabilizer and employed an advanced flight control system coupled to axisymetric nozzles. At that time, India's DRDO intended to develop a stealthy Medium Combat Aircraft, a further extension of its LCA design, in order to replace the Jaguar and Mirage inventory beginning around 2010. The twin engined aircraft was planned to have a thrust ratio of 7:8:1, and GE, SNECMA, and Klimov all offered to provide the engines for this aircraft.

Design

The AMCA is a multirole fighter aircraft, with shoulder mounted diamond shaped trapezoidal wings, a profile with substantial area-ruling to reduce drag at transonic speeds, and an all-moving Canard-Vertical V-tail with large fuselage mounted Tail-wing. Flight control surfaces include leading and trailing-edge flaps, ailerons, rudders on the canted vertical stabilizers, and all-moving tailplanes; these surfaces also serve as Air brakes. The cockpit features a single seat configuration which is placed high, near the air intakes and wings of the aircraft to provide good visibility to the pilot with a single bubble canopy construction. The aircraft features a tricycle landing gear configuration with a nose landing gear leg and two main landing gear legs. The weapons bay is placed on the underside of the fuselage between the nose and main landing gear. The AMCA is designed to produce a very small radar cross-section, to accomplish this it features serpentine shaped air-intakes to reduce radar exposure to the fan blade which increases stealth, uses an internal weapons bay and features the use of composites and other materials.The flight control surfaces are controlled by a central management computer system. Raising the wing flaps and ailerons on one side and lowering them on the other provides.

Radar

As same like every other fifth generation fighters, The AMCA too hosts superior avionics and sensor suites. The AMCA hosts new generation GaN based AESA for superior detection and performance. Currently there is no fighter jets has GaN based AESA radars. However many ground based radar available with GaN transceiver modules. Some information’s reported that, state owned LRDE is initiated a project to develop a small size air borne X band GaN based AESA radar for AMCA. LRDE already shows a model of AESA radar in last years Aero India exhibition. However the Uttam is not good for fifth generation fighters like AMCA.

Sensor

The infrared based systems like IRST, missile warning systems, laser warning system also added internally in the AMCA. The IRST sensors are placed in all sides of the AMCA to provide full angle coverage like in Rafale and F 35. The proposed IRST system is work similar to the F 35’s EOTS who shares the information’s to friendly units like via the satellite and highly secured data links.

Propulsion and Avionics

The K 10 Program is a joint venture partnership with a foreign engine manufacturer. K 10 program engine will be final production standard Kaveri engine and shall have less weight and more reheat thrust along with certain other changes to meet the original design intent. Both the engines are designed by ADA and developed by GTRE. Full scale development of the K 9 and K 10 engine would be completed by 2019. while AMCA Test Demonstrator would be powered by an existing 90 kN thrust engine. AMCA is a twin-engines aircraft which is powered by 2X GTRE k9 + or K 10 engine that can capable of producing 11-Kn-125Kn thrust each.The aircraft has a maximum take off weight is 29 tonnes:2 tonnes of internal weapons and 4 tonnes of internal fuel.It can achieve maximum speed of 2.5+ Mach (2665 + Km/h) at altitude and Mach 1.2 at sea level and have a cruise speed of Mach 1.6 at supercruise. The AMCA would have range of 2800 km and climb at the altitudes at 13,716m/min.

The HAL AMCA has integrated with latest avionics suite which include AESA radar, Integrated avionics systems, Helmet Mounted Display, Datalink capabilities, IRST,E/O Targeting System (EOTS),Multi-functional integrated radio electronics system (MIRES),ECM suite, Laser-based counter-measures against infrared missiles, IRST for airborne targets, Ultraviolet warning sensors and Targeting pod.

Engine

India asks for a joint development of fifth generation engines with foreign nations. It’s reported India might need more than 2000 plus Engines for AMCA. India already has initiated a Engine project named Kaveri. India wants the new engine who powers the AMCA must be based on the Kaveri. In response many foreign nations responded for the Joint Engine development program. Currently three countries tries to seal the AMCA engine development program. US, France and England offers their known engine companies like General Electric, Snecma and Rolls Royce respectively. GE from America offered engine development based on the F 414 engine, and the Snecma announced the M 88 engine who powers the Rafale and the Rolls Royce also offered the EJ 200 engine for joint development with Kaveri.

READ Tejas world-class fighter jet, plays defined role: HAL chief As per last known reports, US company General Electric leads in the program. who already supplying F 404 engines for LCA Tejas. GE also set ups manufacturing plants in India to produce aviation engines in India.