India’s ambitions to produce a fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) have encountered a setback, after the F414 engine sought from US aerospace giant General Electric (GE) for the aircraft’s design and development turned out to be ‘too expensive’.The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), which is designing the aircraft, is now exploring alternative options for powering the under-development prototype.Sources clarified that the requirement for engines to support the AMCA design and development is distinct from the ongoing commercial negotiations between GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture the same F414 engine in India under a joint venture. Technical discussions for the JV have been completed, while commercial talks are still underway and expected to take several months.The GE-HAL joint venture covers procurement, technology transfer, licensed manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities, spares, warranties, and delivery schedules. The JV’s engines are intended to power the Tejas Mark 2 and the first variant of the AMCA, while a second variant is expected to use a more powerful engine being co-developed by Safran and HAL.However, in the case of engines sought for AMCA’s design and development, GE has reportedly quoted a price nearly three times higher than earlier estimates. Initially projected at Rs 70–80 crore per unit, the revised cost is said to be almost triple. With the AMCA designed as a twin-engine aircraft, the cost of engines alone could reach $380–400 million (Rs 3,500–3,800 crore) per plane, raising concerns over both affordability and timelines for the flagship fighter programme.The AMCA is central to the future combat readiness of the Indian Air Force. Last month, the Ministry of Defence invited three shortlisted consortiums to submit formal commercial and technical bids for manufacturing five prototypes of the aircraft. The bidders include Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), competing independently; a consortium led by Larsen & Toubro (L&T) with Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Dynamatic Technologies Ltd; and another consortium comprising Bharat Forge, PSU BEML, and Data Patterns.The winning partner will collaborate with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under DRDO to build five flying prototypes and one structural test aircraft. The shortlisted firms, selected based on their technical capabilities, will compete to build prototypes of the fighter aircraft. A few F414 engines from GE had been sought specifically for this design and development phase.