Triple Engine Thrust Towards Viksit And Surakshit Bharat

The spectacular success of ‘Op Sindoor’ has brought a new normal to the table in both the political and military realms. The robust performance of Indigenous weapon systems, namely the Surface-to-Air Missile ‘Akash’ and the Integrated Air Command and Control System (IACCS), which played a crucial role in Air defence, proved our home-grown capability in this field.  India also resorted to both kinetic and non-kinetic systems to tackle drones launched by Pakistan. Media reports suggest that the DRDO-developed D4 anti-drone system was extensively used during the four-day conflict. ‘Joint Venture Weapon Systems’ like Surface to Air Missile BARAK-8 (SAM) and surface-to-surface missiles ‘BrahMos’ were other success stories which inflicted extensive damage to ground-based assets in Pakistan, as well as to tackle incoming missiles/drones from Pakistan.  It is, therefore, natural that the ‘Make in India’ vision gets a vigorous reboot for Defence manufacturing in India.  The Prime Minister, during the recent meeting with his Cabinet, reportedly acknowledged the might of indigenous weapons and emphasised giving priority to ‘Make in India’ weapons as much as possible.

The Prime Minister’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047 essentially involves a strong defence industrial base with minimal dependence on foreign defence equipment. To achieve this, the Indian defence industry will need to undertake several initiatives to realise this dream.

Triple Engine Mantra

The essence of any major defence equipment like ship, aircraft or a tank consists three components which are the Main body (float component in a ship/airframe in the aircraft), ‘Move’ component (engine of ship/aircraft/tank) and the ‘Fight’ component which is essentially the weapon and sensor package of the equipment.  While India has done well in the sphere of developing the Main body and the Fight component (weapons/sensors), the Engine (Move component) has been the Achilles’ heel for domestic defence industry.  India would do well to strategise on the triple engine strategy to fulfil the mission of indigenisation in the defence sector.

Aero Engines

India started earnestly for its quest to develop aero engine under project ‘Kaveri’ by the DRDO and has been able to achieve a workable engine with 50 Kilo Newton (KN) of dry thrust which is presently undergoing testing in Russia to evaluate its performance with a focus on its application in Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs) and its potential use in manned aircraft. The thrust requirement for Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) ‘Tejas’ is approx. 85 KN and the thrust requirement stretches to 100 KN for future aircraft programmes in India. Kaveri aero engine programme is a key building block for India’s push for self-reliance in Indian military aviation. The programme, which was conceived in the 1980s, had its setback but needs dedicated support from all stakeholders to develop this aero engine to power our future aircraft programmes. The road from 48 KN to 85 KN dry thrust has its challenges. However, India needs to work towards realising this dream with adequate funding, potential tie-ups with foreign firms to remove technical barriers, and hiring the best minds in the country via collaboration between DRDO and private entities in India.

Marine Engine

The second key area of focus in the triple-engine strategy is the development of gas turbine engines for Indian warships. The Indian Navy’s main combatants, including destroyers, frigates, missile vessels, and even the latest aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant, are powered by gas turbines. Gas turbines have several advantages over conventional diesel and steam propulsion systems for marine applications.  Currently, we are entirely dependent on Ukraine and the USA for these marine engines to power our frontline warships. The Indian Navy had tested on a testbed, a variant of the Kaveri engine called ‘Kaveri Marine Gas Turbine (KMGT)’ in the year 2008, with some success. India needs to capitalise on these successes and the progress made so far in the aero engine and work towards producing an indigenous marine gas turbine to propel major surface warships by 2035. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the Russian attack on the Zorya-Mashproekt Gas Turbine Complex in Ukraine, which supplies most of the gas turbines for Indian warships, is a testament to the fact that India cannot indefinitely rely on foreign supplies for its marine gas propulsion plants.

Tank Engines

The final thrust area of our strategy should be to develop a reliable and robust engine for indigenous tanks, which is a crucial component of our war strategy, whether used in the deserts of Rajasthan, the plains of Punjab, or even in the mountainous regions against China, albeit in a light tank role.  Similarly, a self-propelled howitzer like the ‘K-9 Vajra’ will be the mainstay of our artillery, which requires a powerful and reliable engine. The ‘DATRAN’ 1500 HP engines, currently undergoing trials on the prototype, are likely to power India’s Arjun MBTs, Mk-1 and Mk-2, as well as the Future Ready Combat Vehicle (FRCV). The offshoot of such an engine can also be modified to suit a self-propelled howitzer, such as the K-9 Vajra, as well as T-90 tanks, which are currently the mainstay of our tank fleet. The project for manufacturing indigenous engines for our FRCV, tanks, and howitzers for the Indian Army should be a priority item on the Ministry of Defence’s list to enable complete fulfilment of the mission of self-reliance in this critical field.

The Modi Sarkar 3.0 would do well to incorporate the mission of Triple Engine into its political slogan, ‘Double Engine Sarkar’, to achieve self-reliance in the defence field in its quest to become a ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

Rear Admiral Dhiren Vig (Retd)

Rear Admiral Dhiren Vig (Retd)

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Author superannuated from Indian Navy on 16th January, 2023 and joined the Armed Forces Tribunal, Principal Bench at New Delhi

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