India has issued requests for initial proposals to domestically manufacture a fifth-generation stealth combat aircraft, with three Indian companies — Tata Advanced Systems, a Larsen & Toubro–Bharat Electronics joint venture, and a Bharat Forge–BEML partnership — shortlisted as potential builders. The programme, approved last year in the weeks following India's military conflict with Pakistan, is seen as critical to reversing a decline in Indian Air Force (IAF) combat strength, which has fallen below 30 squadrons against an approved target of 42. The initiative reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi's drive to expand domestic defence production, which reached a record $16.09 billion in the financial year ending March 2025, even as India has declined offers of both the American F-35 and Russia's Su-57 fighter jets.