India’s Reliance Industries and British aerospace company Rolls-Royce have announced their intent to partner on the co-development and manufacture of a sovereign indigenous combat aircraft engine for the country’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program.
The proposed engine is reported to deliver more than 120 kilonewtons of thrust and is intended to power the AMCA Mk2, the more advanced variant of the indigenous stealth fighter expected to enter production in the late 2030s.
Rolls-Royce has previously said the new engine would be designed and developed in India, with India receiving full technology transfer and control over the intellectual property developed under the project.
Such ownership would give New Delhi greater freedom to upgrade, modify, manufacture and maintain the engine throughout its service life without relying on its foreign partner for every major change.
The engine is expected to make its first test flight in 2034 and enter production by 2036.
“India’s strategic autonomy requires sovereign capability in critical technologies,” Reliance Industries’ Executive Director Anant Ambani said.
“Our intent with Rolls-Royce is to combine their world-leading expertise in advanced propulsion with Reliance’s technology, manufacturing, scale and execution capabilities to build an indigenous aero-engine ecosystem in India.
“Together, we aim to build an enduring national capability that can make India self-reliant and, over time, globally competitive in advanced propulsion technologies.”
Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç said the partnership, along with the company’s existing operations in India, marked “a major milestone towards building a robust, self-reliant aerospace ecosystem in the country.”
Under the partnership, the companies will also explore establishing a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex as a center of excellence for power and propulsion technology in India.
India’s Aero Engine Goals
The partnership comes as a separate proposal by French engine maker Safran and the government-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) for a high-thrust AMCA engine remains under government consideration.
India has struggled for decades to develop an indigenous fighter engine capable of meeting the performance requirements of its combat aircraft. The GTRE-developed Kaveri engine, launched in the 1980s, failed to meet the requirements of the indigenous Tejas aircraft, leaving the Indian Air Force dependent on imported powerplants.
The initial AMCA Mk1 is planned to be powered by the US-made GE F414 engine, with India negotiating its local production. The aircraft is expected to make its first flight in 2028-2029 and enter Indian Air Force service in the mid-2030s.