Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu laid the foundation stones and presided over the grounding ceremonies for a range of strategic aerospace and defence projects at Puttaparthi in Sri Satya Sai district of Andhra Pradesh on May 15, 2026.
Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Project Details
The AMCA programme has a total outlay of around Rs 15,000 crore, while the Core Integration & Flight Testing Centre is being established at an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore. The Centre at Puttaparthi will accelerate the development of the Fifth-Generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and other indigenous defence platforms.
The AMCA defence project, spread across 650 acres, will be jointly established by the Aeronautical Development Agency and Defence Research and Development Organisation. It is India’s first fifth-generation stealth multi-role fighter aircraft project.
Fighter aircraft equipped with stealth technology, twin-engine supercruise capability and advanced avionics systems will be developed under the project.
The project has also been designed to undertake both aircraft development and testing activities at Puttaparthi itself. The government has allocated 400 acres specifically for the facility.
Speaking at the Foundation Laying and Ground Breaking ceremony of various defence projects in Puttaparthi (AP). https://t.co/prKjbkv3tj
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 15, 2026
Grounding ceremonies were also held for the Defence Energetics Facility and the Ammunition & Electric Fuses Plant at Madakasira in Sri Satya Sai district.
In addition, eight drone companies joined together to establish a Drone City in Kurnool district, while several companies exchanged MoUs with the Andhra Pradesh government to establish defence manufacturing units in the state.
Apart from the AMCA project, foundation stones were also laid for four defence sector projects and eight drone projects.
Through these 12 projects, investments worth Rs 4,145 crore and employment opportunities for 6,071 people are expected to be generated. Of these, two projects will come up in Madakasira, while one project each will be established in Donakonda and Nellore.
Rajnath Singh’s speech
Addressing the gathering, Rajnath Singh described the projects as “truly historic” and stated that self-reliance in defence manufacturing was critical in the present global environment. He said the projects would support all branches of the armed forces and strengthen India’s future defence preparedness.
The Raksha Mantri stated that the projects would act as “Growth Poles” and generate large-scale employment opportunities. He added that engineering colleges, ITIs, supply chains and small-scale industries would become part of the emerging defence ecosystem in Andhra Pradesh.
Rajnath Singh said Puttaparthi would become one of the select global locations from where a fifth-generation aircraft would take flight.
Naval Systems Manufacturing Facility
A Naval Systems Manufacturing Facility was also launched at T Sirasapalli village in Anakapalli district to support advanced underwater weapon and naval combat systems.
The Naval Systems Manufacturing Facility, a Rs 480 crore project of Bharat Dynamics Limited, will manufacture autonomous underwater vehicles, underwater counter-measure systems and next-generation torpedoes. The facility will also produce critical components and sub-systems that were previously imported.
The Defence Energetics Facility of Agneyastra Energetics Limited, a subsidiary of Bharat Forge, is being established with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore.
The Ammunition and Electric Fuse Plant of HFCL Limited is being established with an investment of around Rs 1,200 crore.
Kurnool as Drone City
The eight drone projects will be developed in the proposed Drone City in Kurnool district.
Rajnath Singh stated that the Drone City initiative would transform the region into a major drone manufacturing hub. He compared the vision to Surat’s identity as the “Diamond City” and Bengaluru’s reputation as India’s “Silicon Valley”.
Growth in Defence Exports
Highlighting the growth of India’s defence sector, the Raksha Mantri said defence production had increased from Rs 46,000 crore in 2014 to nearly Rs 1.54 lakh crore, while defence exports had risen from around Rs 600 crore to nearly Rs 40,000 crore.
Andhra to lead India’s growth in innovation: CM Chandrababu Naidu
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu praised the Centre’s emphasis on indigenisation and self-reliance in defence manufacturing and stated that Andhra Pradesh would lead India’s growth in innovation, infrastructure and industrialisation.
Rayalaseema won’t just achieve targets, it will take targets down too.
Today marks a major milestone in strengthening India’s defence ecosystem, with Andhra Pradesh at its core. I had the honour and privilege of joining Hon’ble Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh Ji in… pic.twitter.com/7wjGctYCjg
— N Chandrababu Naidu (@ncbn) May 15, 2026
Additional projects worth Rs 2,959 crore are expected to generate employment for around 1,935 people.
Projects linked to Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited, Bharat Dynamics Limited and HFCL were launched during the event.
Agreements were also signed with Bharat Forge, Raghu Vamsi Machine Tools, Sagar Defence Engineering, NIBE Group, PMT Defence, Chakravyuh Dynamics and Indus Bridge Ventures.
Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, Ministers in the AP Government, Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar, other senior officials of Ministry of Defence, and industry representatives were present on the occasion.
