Defence Research and Development Organisation will soon move the cabinet committee on security for the approval of the ambitious project with French major Safran
NEW DELHI: India is now finally getting set to kick off the collaboration with France to co-develop a new powerful jet engine for its indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter and other futuristic platforms, which will further bolster the already expansive strategic partnership between the two countries.Defence Research and Development Organisation will soon move the cabinet committee on security for the approval of the ambitious project with French major Safran, with 100% transfer of technology, to jointly design, develop, test, qualify, certify and produce the new 120 kilonewton engines in India, senior officials told TOI.”DRDO has cleared the proposal by Safran, which already makes a variety of helicopter engines in India, as the best option for the twin-engine fifth-generation fighter called AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft). The project, with DRDO’s lab Gas Turbine Research Establishment, would cost almost $7 billion,” an official said.Defence minister Rajnath Singh, speaking at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum Friday, also confirmed the impending project. “We have taken steps forward to build our fifth-generation fighter aircraft. We have also moved towards manufacturing the aircraft’s engine in India itself. We are about to start engine manufacturing work in India with the French company Safran,” Singh said. India’s inability to manufacture an aero-engine, with the requisite thrust-to-weight ratio, has for long been a major hurdle for indigenous fighter jet programmes.The almost two-year delay in delivery of 99 GE-F404 turbofan engines by US firm General Electric, which HAL contracted for Rs 5,375 crore in Aug 2021, as well as weapons and radar integration issues, for instance, are the main reasons for the major slowdown in production of Tejas Mark-1A fighters.Hindustan Aeronautics and GE are also yet to seal the final deal for the co-production of the GE-F414 engines in the 98 kilonewton thrust class in India, with 80% of transfer of technology for around $1.5 billion, to power the planned Tejas Mark-2 variant.”The project for jet engine with Safran will have full IP (intellectual property) ownership & licencing control by India. It will create an entire ecosystem for the manufacture of aero-engines in India, with complete supply chain development,” an official said.This comes after the defence ministry in May finally approved a new “programme execution model” for prototype development of the 25-tonne AMCA, with greater private sector participation.As per existing timelines, the AMCA with the requisite thrust-to-weight ratio, advanced sensor fusion and stealth features like an internal weapons bay and “serpentine air-intake” will be ready for production only by 2035.IAF plans to induct seven squadrons (126 jets) of the expensive AMCA, with the first two squadrons powered by the American GE-F414 engines and the next five with 120 kilonewton engines.
