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40-833: The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft ( AMCA ) is an Indian single-seat, twin-engine , all-weather fifth-generation stealth , multirole combat aircraft being developed for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy . The Mark-1 variant of the aircraft will be a fifth generation fighter while the Mark-2 variant will have sixth-generation technologies. The aircraft is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) - an aircraft design agency under MoD . A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) consisting of ADA, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and

80-649: A great circle route. Hence, in case of an engine failure in a twinjet (like Boeing 777 ), the twin-jet could make emergency landings in fields in Canada , Alaska , eastern Russia , Greenland , Iceland , or the British Isles . The Boeing 777 has also been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for flights between North America and Hawaii , which is the world's longest regular airline route with no diversion airports along

120-518: A podded engine usually mounted beneath, or occasionally above or within, each wing. Most notable examples of such a configuration are the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 . The second has one engine mounted on each side of the rear fuselage, close to its empennage , used by many business jets , although some airliners like the Fokker 70 , Douglas DC-9 and COMAC ARJ21 utilise such a design as well. In

160-500: A mechanically steerable mount. An onboard condition monitoring system is also planned to be included in the AMCA. The platform will be equipped with a quadruple digital fly-by-optics control system using fibre optic cables to reduce weight, increase the rate of data transfer and reduce electromagnetic interference. The AMCA will have a glass cockpit equipped with a wide panoramic touchscreen display for enhanced man-machine interaction ,

200-487: A more powerful joint venture (JV) engine is planned for AMCA Mark-2. As per Government statement in Rajya Sabha during Winter Session 2021, there is a proposal to jointly develop engine for AMCA with the help of foreign partner using the know how from Kaveri engine development programme. On 15 July 2023, India and France agreed to collaborate for the joint development of a combat aircraft engine, which would power

240-436: A multi function display (MFD) placed in portrait orientation and a wide-angle holographic head-up display (HUD). The AMCA will have hands-on throttle-and-stick (HOTAS) arrangement with right hand on stick and left hand on throttle settings to ease the pilot workload. The AMCA is to be powered by two afterburning turbofan engines. The plan is to equip General Electric F414 afterburning turbofan engine on AMCA Mark-1, while

280-420: A point along the fuselage. The aircraft features a tricycle landing gear configuration. 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 "S-shaped" air-intakes to reduce radar exposure to the fan blade which increases stealth, uses an internal weapons bay and features

320-402: A private company is being formed for the development and production of AMCA. In March 2024, the project received approval from India's Cabinet Committee on Security for the prototype development and mass production expected to begin by 2035. AMCA is designed as a single-seat, twin-engine combat aircraft. The AMCA Mark 1 will come equipped with 5th generation technologies and Mark 2 will have

360-410: 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. A leading-edge root extension (LERX), which is a small fillet , is situated on the front section of the intake and wings of the aircraft. It has a typically roughly rectangular shape, running forward from the leading edge of the wing root to

400-408: A specified distance from an available diversion airport. Overwater flights near diversion airports need not be ETOPS/LROPS-compliant. Since the 1990s, airlines have increasingly turned from four-engine or three-engine airliners to twin-engine airliners to operate transatlantic and transpacific flight routes. On a nonstop flight from America to Asia or Europe, the long-range aircraft usually follows

440-541: A trijet aircraft) and Boeing worked on new widebody twinjet designs that would become the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777 , respectively. The MD-11's long range advantage was brief as it was soon nullified by the Airbus A330-300 and the extended-range Boeing 767-300ER and Boeing 777-200ER. The Airbus A320 twinjet stands out as the most produced jet airliner. The Boeing 777X is the world's largest twinjet, and

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480-645: A wide spectrum. Additionally, it provides great defense against radar-guided missiles. From 2019 to 2024, it was tested in both lab and field settings under various circumstances. Meta Tattva Systems is the licensee of the technology for industrial production and is currently under acquisition by the Indian Armed Forces . This technology is of interest to DRDO for AMCA development. The AMCA is expected to have distributed passive sensors with Artificial intelligence (AI) assisted multi-sensor data fusion to increase situational awareness and to work in tandem with

520-523: Is also reaffirmed by IAF's current chief Vivek Ram Chaudhari . The AMCA is a twin-engine, stealth supersonic multi-role fighter designed for the IAF. At present, the AMCA is planned as a fifth generation fighter but will integrate emerging, best-of-breed sixth-generation technologies over time. The AMCA would be the first fifth generation fighter to enter service with the Indian Air Force. The AMCA

560-435: Is designed with shoulder mounted diamond shaped trapezoidal wings , a profile with substantial area-ruling to reduce drag at transonic speeds, and a stabilator 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

600-530: Is expected in late 2028. The first three prototypes will carry out developmental flight trials, whereas the next two will focus on weapon trials. The prototype will be rolled out at an interval of 8-9 months. Mass production of the aircraft is planned to start by 2035. The IAF plan to procure at least 125 AMCA in Mark-1 and Mark-2 configurations. The Mark 2 of AMCA is expected to have a more powerful engine, sixth-generation features and technologies to stay relevant in

640-474: Is not an issue, as one of the engines is more than powerful enough to keep the aircraft aloft (see below). Mostly, ETOPS certification involves maintenance and design requirements ensuring that a failure of one engine cannot make the other one fail also. The engines and related systems need to be independent and (in essence) independently maintained. ETOPS/LROPS is often incorrectly thought to apply only to long overwater flights, but it applies to any flight more than

680-518: The 777X in November 2013, while then-CEO Fabrice Brégier preferred to focus on product improvement rather than all-new concepts for 10 years. It would have a 10-abreast economy like the 777; its 565 m (6,081 sq ft) wing, slightly more than the 747-8, would have an 80 m (262 ft) span, as wide as the A380 , for a 892,900 lb (405 t) MTOW compared to 775,000 lb (352 t) for

720-399: The Boeing 777 , Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 have matched or surpassed older quad-jet designs such as the Boeing 747 and Airbus A340 in these aspects, and twinjets have been more successful in terms of sales than quad-jets. In 2012, Airbus studied a 470-seat twinjet competitor for the Boeing 747-8 with lower operating costs expected between 2023 and 2030, revived after Boeing launched

760-753: The 777-200LR variant has the world's second longest aircraft range (behind Airbus A350-900 ULR). Other Boeing twinjets include the 767 , 757 (With the latter having stopped production, but still in commercial service) and 787 . Competitor Airbus produces the A320 family , the A330 , and the A350 . Some modern commercial airplanes still use four engines ( quad-jets ) like the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 , which are classified as very large aircraft (over 400 seats in mixed-class configurations). Four engines are still used on

800-432: The 777X, with a composite structure for an operating empty weight of 467,400 lb (212 t), and a 8,150 nmi (15,090 km) range at Mach 0.85. When flying far from diversionary airports (so called ETOPS/LROPS flights), the aircraft must be able to reach an alternate on the remaining engine within a specified time in case of one engine failure. When aircraft are certified according to ETOPS standards, thrust

840-637: The AMCA. Indian Air Force – 7 squadrons (planned) Specifications can vary as the aircraft is still in development. All the information is based on available non-official sources - approximate and preliminary. Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft General characteristics Performance Armament Avionics Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Twinjet There are three common configurations of twinjet aircraft. The first, common on large aircraft such as airliners, has

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880-749: The General Electric F414 engine in India for HAL Tejas Mark 2 and for the first two squadrons of AMCA. As of September 2024, foreign firms who offered Joint Venture development includes US-origin General Electric , UK-origin Rolls-Royce and French-origin Safran . The latter two has also offered 100% intellectual property (IP) of engine design. The Safran and Rolls-Royce has also received clearance from their respective countries for

920-570: The Mark-2 variant of AMCA as part of the Horizon 2047 document for India-France strategic partnership. A roadmap for this project will be prepared between French firm Safran and India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) before the end of 2023. On 18 November 2023, Dr. Samir V. Kamat of DRDO announced that the United States has provided the necessary permits, opening the door for GE Aerospace and HAL to jointly produce

960-474: The advanced electronic warfare (EW) suite onboard AMCA. The AMCA has a distributed processing system employing fast processors and smart subsystems. The AMCA will also have an integrated vehicle health monitoring system which works on sensor fusion. AMCA will be equipped with a larger and powerful variant of the Uttam AESA Radar which will use gallium nitride (GaN) technology. It will be mounted on

1000-507: The airframe of AMCA will have 38–40% composite. As of October 2022, designers are still in the process of refining the radar deflection capability of AMCA. It will also use radar-absorbent materials wherever necessary. On November 26, 2024, IIT Kanpur introduced Anālakṣhya, a Meta-material Surface Cloaking System (MSCS) for multi-spectral camouflage . The Meta-material Microwave Absorber improves stealth capabilities against Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imaging by wave absorption across

1040-472: The coming decades. In an interview given in 2020, the then Air Force Chief R. K. S. Bhadauria stated that "The planning process is already underway for combat systems like optionally manned sixth generation technologies, smart wingman concept, swarm drones, long persistent HALE (High-Altitude Long Endurance) platforms and hypersonic weapons , among others. He also added that it is imperative to incorporate such advanced technologies to keep AMCA relevant. It

1080-544: The end of 2014, configuration 3B-09 was chosen. In 2015, the basic design configuration of AMCA was finalized, and has been accepted by IAF in 2016. The design work was completed in 2023, and approval for the ₹ 15,000 crore (US$ 1.8 billion) project for prototype development was received in March 2024. DRDO expects to roll out the first prototype in three years and the first flight in one to one and (a) half years after that". Total 5 prototypes are to be built. The first flight

1120-603: The engine development. Reportedly, Safran is the frontrunner for the deal and discussions are underway among Safran, ADA and GTRE as of October 2024. In October 2023, Safran and HAL also signed an MoU to develop industrial cooperation in forging parts’ manufacturing for commercial engines. The AMCA features an internal weapons bay for carrying missiles and standoff precision guided munitions in stealthy configuration, while also has provision for external hardpoints for carrying ordinance externally for non-stealthy missions. Directed energy weapons are also planned to be equipped on

1160-542: The incremental 6th generation technology upgrades. The AMCA is intended to perform a multitude of missions including Air supremacy , Ground-Strike , Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) and Electronic Warfare (EW) missions. It is intended to supplant the Sukhoi Su-30MKI air superiority fighter, which forms the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet. The AMCA design is optimized for low radar cross section and supercruise capability. Feasibility study on AMCA and

1200-530: The introduction of ETOPS rules that allowed twin-engine jets to fly long-distance routes that were previously off-limits to them, Airbus was able to further develop the A300 as a medium- to long-range airliner to increased sales; Boeing launched its widebody twinjet, the Boeing 767 , in response. In the 1980s the Boeing 727 was discontinued, as its central engine bay would require a prohibitively expensive redesign to accommodate quieter high-bypass turbofans, and it

1240-449: The largest cargo aircraft capable of transporting outsize cargo , including strategic airlifters . Twin-jets tend to be more fuel-efficient than trijet (three engine) and quad-jet (four engine) aircraft. As fuel efficiency in airliners is a high priority, many airlines have been increasingly retiring trijet and quad-jet designs in favor of twinjets in the twenty-first century. The trijet designs were phased out first, in particular due to

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1280-410: The more complicated design and maintenance issues of the middle engine mounted on the stabilizer. Early twinjets were not permitted by ETOPS restrictions to fly long-haul trans-oceanic routes, as it was thought that they were unsafe in the event of failure of one engine, so quad-jets were used. Quad-jets also had higher carrying capacity than comparable earlier twinjets. However, later twinjets such as

1320-655: The preliminary design stage have been completed, and the project entered the detailed design phase in February 2019. The AMCA is currently the only 5th generation fighter under development in India. The AMCA programme, earlier known as the Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA) programme , is an Indian programme to develop a fifth-generation combat aircraft. It began as a parallel programme to the Indo-Russia Sukhoi/HAL FGFA . The AMCA programme

1360-697: The requirement that an aircraft be able to continue a takeoff if an engine fails after the takeoff decision speed is reached. Thus, with all engines operating, trijets must be able to produce at least 150% of the minimum thrust required to climb and quad-jets 133%. Conversely, since a twinjet will lose half of its total thrust if an engine fails, they are required to produce 200% of the minimum thrust required to climb when both engines are operating. Because of this, twinjets typically have higher thrust-to-weight ratios than aircraft with more engines, and are thus able to accelerate and climb faster. Trapezoidal wing Too Many Requests If you report this error to

1400-694: The third configuration both engines are within the fuselage, side-by-side, used by most fighters since the 1960s. Later fighters using this configuration include the Su-27 'Flanker', the F-15 Eagle , and the F-22 Raptor . The first twinjet to fly was the German fighter prototype Heinkel He 280 , flying in April 1941 with a pair of nacelled Heinkel HeS 8 axial-flow turbojets. The twinjet configuration

1440-674: The use of composites and other materials. The flight control surfaces are controlled by a central management computer system. The AMCA will have some sixth generation characteristics such as an optionally crewed, directed energy weapons, capable of controlling UCAVs, and swarm drones . The AMCA design has inherent radar stealth, achieved through twin-tail layout, platform edge alignment and serration, body conformal antenna and low intercept radar, diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) with serpentine ducts which conceal engine fan blades, internal weapons bay and extensive use of composites in airframe. According to Janes Information Services quoting ADA,

1480-450: The way. On large passenger jets, the cost of the engines makes up a significant proportion of the plane's final cost. Each engine also requires separate service, paperwork, and certificates. Having two larger engines as opposed to three or four smaller engines will typically significantly reduce both the purchase and maintenance costs of a plane. Regulations governing the required thrust levels for transport aircraft are typically based upon

1520-502: Was launched in 2010. Although envisioned as a 20-tonne class fighter earlier, now AMCA is 25-tonne class fighter. A feasibility study was launched in October 2010, followed by Project Definition and Preliminary Design phase in 2013. From November 2013 to December 2014, 9 design configurations of AMCA, starting from 3B-01 to 3B-09, were studied using CAD , low-speed - high-speed wind tunnel testing, and radar cross section (RCS) testing. By

1560-656: Was soon supplanted by twinjets for the narrow-body market; Airbus with the A320 , and Boeing with the 757 and updated "classic" variants of the 737 . During that decade only McDonnell Douglas continued development of the trijet design with an update to the DC-10 , the MD-11 , which initially had a range advantage over its closest medium wide-body competitors which were twinjets, the in-production Boeing 767 and Airbus A300/A310. In contrast to McDonnell Douglas sticking with their existing trijet configuration, Airbus (which never produced

1600-484: Was used for short-range narrow-bodied aircraft such as the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737 . The Airbus A300 was initially not successful when first produced as a short-range widebody, as airlines operating the A300 on short-haul routes had to reduce frequencies to try and fill the high-capacity aircraft, and lost passengers to airlines operating more frequent narrow-body flights. However, after

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