AMCA model spotted at the ORANGE facility near Hyderabad, sourced via Twitter/X (Apple Maps image of May 2026):
ORANGE is the
Open-Range RCS Test Facility located just north of the Air Force Academy outside Hyderabad, southern India:
It's outfitted somewhat similarly to Skunk Works' Helendale RCS test facility in California:
There has long been criticism over India's refusal to invest in the tools needed to develop fighter aircraft - wind tunnels, high altitude test chambers, FTB etc meaning Kaveri and derivatives needed to be tested in Russia, Tejas Mk2 intakes in France. Will this lack of investment in 'the tools needed to do the job' finally come to an end with AMCA?
I have the impression that Turkiye has equipped itself adequately to develop fast jets. Surely India can do the same.
Sorry for late reply...
There are extensive trisonic wind tunnel facilities in India, specifically under CSIR-NAL where both Tejas & AMCA models were tested. Along with foreign aircraft models that were later modified to carry Indian stores/weapons:
And then there are larger open-circuit facilities at places like IISc where certain configurations are also tested:
What's probably lacking is perhaps a larger lower-speed facility, I'm not aware of what the plan is in that department - per what I've heard there are areas where they expect computation to nullify some of the needs. I have also heard of a new, larger Continuous-flow Trisonic Wind Tunnel (CTWT) under construction though.
@Nilgiri is much more informed than me in these aerospace matters.
AMCA's avionics FTB aircraft (Airbus A319 platform) has already been procured and is probably being modified as we speak:
As of the Tejas Mk2's inlets, the reason they had to be sent to France's ONERA was because of the new Close-Coupled Canard configuration. ONERA had extensive experience in solving the problems that emerge from CCC due to Rafale development...experience which India was lacking.
I'm not informed enough about what Turkiye has or hasn't done so far to make a comparison.
Engines are a separate program and will require their own infrastructure. I'm aware of a new 130 kN-class Twin Test Cell of the GTRE that's coming up though:
The upcoming JV engine to be developed with SAFRAN will likely be tested here^^.
As of a flying test bed for the engine, I still haven't heard anything about a domestic platform for that. It's possible we might test it directly on an AMCA demonstrator (kinda like what France did for the M88 on Rafale-A demonstrator). For Kaveri, there are proposals to modify twin-engine aircraft like the MiG-29 to serve as an FTB (one Kaveri, one RD-33). We'll see how they do it.
Gromov option is still there anyway.
On the requirement that first flight is to be 30 months from signing a contract for prototype building - can that realistically be done? I don't see it but I hope to be proved wrong.
As the tweet says, only the project report submission, getting the jigs & fixtures ready, flight of the 4th prototype & finally completion of 1800 sorties are mandatory deadlines (failing to meet which will result in penalties). The rest of the deadlines (including the 30-month one for 1st prototype's flight) is indicative, meaning there's scope for it to shift around.
I expect the execution by Private-sector companies like TASL, L&T or BFL to be much better than HAL though. Most of HAL's programs get delayed due to funding approvals, which require Govt authorization beyond a certain level. That can be a bureaucratic nightmare.
theprint.in
apart from EOTS, i would vouch for a clean shaved cheek like F-22 with spine receptacle, no ladder, one piece canopy w/o arc, TacIRST like multi-function sensor, all these would reduce RCS & improve pilot survival.
