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India’s ambitious fifth-generation fighter program is starting to reconsider its reliance on the American GE F414 engine. Ongoing delays, skyrocketing costs, and unresolved commercial challenges could jeopardise the timeline for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.
Highly placed sources in the Ministry of Defence told BharatShakti that New Delhi is actively examining alternative propulsion options after commercial negotiations with GE Aerospace hit a roadblock. While the F414-INS6 had been selected to power the AMCA Mk-1 and the Tejas Mk-2, negotiations have stalled over pricing, technology transfer, licensed manufacturing, maintenance support and long-term sustainment arrangements.
At the centre of the impasse is GE’s revised commercial offer. The F414 engine, initially expected to cost around Rs 70-80 crore apiece, is now understood to have been quoted at nearly three times that amount. The ongoing negotiations cover a wider range of packages, including technology transfer (ToT), the setup of an assembly line in India, spare parts, maintenance facilities, warranties, and support throughout the engine’s lifecycle.
The pricing dispute comes on top of existing concerns over delays in deliveries of F414 engines meant for the Tejas Mk-2 programme. Defence planners fear a similar dependence for the AMCA could jeopardise India’s most ambitious combat aircraft project at a time when the Indian Air Force is grappling with a shrinking fighter fleet.
GE Aerospace’s role largely influences the growing unease within the Ministry over the prolonged delays plaguing the Tejas Mk1A programme. The Indian Air Force has yet to receive a single Mk1A despite ordering 83 aircraft in 2021, with deliveries repeatedly slipping amid delays in the supply of GE F404-IN20 engines and subsequent integration challenges.
The Indian Air Force ordered 83 Tejas Mk1A jets in February 2021 for Rs 48,000 crore, followed by a repeat order of 97 more for Rs 62,370 crore, for a total of 180 jets. The first 3 jets were contractually due by March 2024, and after that, HAL was supposed to complete 16 per year, with all 180 deliveries by 2032-33. However, all deadlines have been consistently missed – the original February 2024 delivery date had slipped to October 2025, and subsequent targets for March and June-July 2026 have also failed to materialise. The latest estimate is now October-end 2026. As of today, zero jets have been delivered to the IAF, Not One!
For many planners, the experience has reinforced concerns over India’s continued dependence on a single foreign supplier for critical propulsion technologies. Defence officials stop short of accusing Washington of deliberately slowing India’s combat aviation plans, but there is a perception within sections of the establishment that the hard bargaining over F414 pricing, coupled with earlier F404 delivery slippages, amounts to the United States playing hardball at a time when the IAF is struggling to arrest declining squadron numbers.
The cumulative effect is now influencing discussions on the AMCA, where policymakers are increasingly evaluating propulsion options not only on technical criteria but also on strategic reliability, guaranteed timelines, and sovereign control over future upgrades.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to France is understood to have infused fresh political impetus into Indo-French aerospace cooperation. Officials familiar with the discussions say the Safran proposal has been pushed “towards its logical conclusion”, raising the possibility of a breakthrough in the coming months. Safran has reportedly proposed 100 per cent technology transfer and sharing of intellectual property for a future high-thrust engine programme with co-production in India.
The stakes are considerable. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) requires 15 engines for the AMCA’s five flying prototypes, each twin-engine aircraft needing two installed engines and one spare. The government has already approved over Rs 15,800 crore for prototype development.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by the Ministry of Defence envisages the maiden flight of the first prototype within 30 months of contract signature and completion of nearly 1,800 test sorties over an 84-month development period.
Although replacing the F414 at this stage would involve additional integration, software modifications, certification and testing, officials maintain that the AMCA’s airframe design has already been frozen. Any new powerplant would therefore have to be adapted to the existing aircraft configuration rather than forcing a redesign of the stealth fighter.
The AMCA Mk-1 was originally expected to use the F414 engine for the first two squadrons, while a more powerful 110-120 kN class engine was planned for the AMCA Mk-2 through an international partnership such as Safran.
As Pakistan is set to introduce China’s J-35 stealth fighter in the near future, the Indian Air Force (IAF) currently operates only 29 fighter squadrons, far below its sanctioned strength of 42.5. This makes the choice of propulsion for the AMCA more than just a technical issue – it has become a strategic matter. The decision will significantly impact whether India can achieve its goal of developing an indigenous fifth-generation combat capability on time, or if it will remain reliant on foreign supply chains at a critical moment.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
