With the landmark Rs 64,000 crore contract for 26 Rafale-Marine fighter jets inked on Monday, India is likely to move faster on choosing an engine for its next-generation fighter jet, the Advanced Medium Combat Jet (AMCA), currently at a prototype stage.
Three Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) from around the world are vying to supply or co-develop a fresh engine with India for its fifth-generation fighter jet project. Safran from France, General Electric or GE of the United States, and Rolls Royce, the British Company, are competing to win the race to provide an engine for AMCA.
India has been in talks with France for the co-development of a 110KN engine for the AMCA. The decision for the co-development of a new engine with joint IP between India and France was announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Paris in July 2023. DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), and Safran have yet to work out the specifications and other modalities, sources have revealed.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Rolls Royce remains engaged on a parallel track. As part of the India-UK ‘2030 Roadmap,’ Rolls Royce has pitched a co-creation model for fighter jet engine development, offering India complete ownership of intellectual property (IP). This proposal was discussed in detail during the recent visit of Indian Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh to the Rolls Royce facility, signalling London’s strong political backing, including a fast-tracked export licence for sensitive combat engine technologies. Beyond fighter engines, talks with Rolls Royce also explored naval propulsion systems, including the MT30 and MT7 marine gas turbines for Indian Navy ships and submarines — indicating broader cooperation in the maritime domain.
Meanwhile, sources have revealed that earlier this month, a high-level Indian delegation visited Paris. Discussions around engine collaboration with Safran topped the agenda, among other issues of common concern. Talks are being framed under the broader India-France Defence Industry Roadmap, aligning with earlier agreements for deeper cooperation in advanced aeronautical technologies.
Safran’s engines already power a range of Indian military platforms, and their selection for AMCA could significantly tilt the balance of India’s aerospace ecosystem. Notably, Safran has offered India full transfer of technology (ToT) — from design and development to certification and production — marking a potentially game-changing moment for indigenous capability building.
This momentum follows a 2023 Indo-French decision to jointly develop a next-generation combat aircraft engine and collaborate on heavy-lift helicopter engines under the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) program with HAL.
GE, on the other hand, supplies the F404 engines for LCA Tejas MK IA aircraft. However, with over two years of delay in providing the engines, GE is seen as a rather unreliable and reluctant supplier. The prolonged talks for the supply of the more powerful F414 engines for Tejas MK II–and the failure to conclude the contract so far–has put a question mark on the American firm’s willingness or ability to be a reliable partner for India’s beleaguered military aviation sector.
Another important decision involves selecting a private Indian defence company, alongside the public sector Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), to partner in developing a jet engine within India.
As India recalibrates its engine development strategy away from traditional partners, decisions taken in the coming months could redefine the future of indigenous combat aviation and naval shipbuilding.
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.
