SRINAGAR: India expects to spend around Rs 65,400 crore on procuring engines for fighter aircraft currently under development until 2035, a senior defence official said on Friday.
The estimate underscores the scale of the country’s ambitions to strengthen its indigenous defence manufacturing capabilities.
SV Ramana Murthy, Director of the state-run Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), The Economic Times, said India would need approximately 1,100 engines for various fighter jet programmes that are advancing through multiple stages of development.
Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Murthy emphasised the need to create a dedicated ecosystem for indigenous fighter engines. “There is a need to work on mission mode to create an ecosystem for indigenous fighter engines,” he said, adding that critical infrastructure such as a high-altitude testing facility and a robust industrial base must be established to support this goal.
India’s long-standing attempt to power its Tejas light combat aircraft with the home-grown Kaveri engine has yet to succeed due to persistent technical hurdles. However, Murthy noted that a derivative of the Kaveri could be adapted for use in an indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle.
Murthy is leading the country’s efforts to co-develop a next-generation fighter engine with an international partner for India’s first fifth-generation stealth fighter jet. France’s Safran, Britain’s Rolls-Royce, and the US-based General Electric have all expressed interest in the project.
A prototype of the fighter jet, named the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), is expected to roll out in 2028, according to Indian defence officials. For the first time, private firms will also be allowed to bid for the production of the aircraft, in a move aimed at easing the burden on Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which currently manufactures most of India’s military aircraft.
