Rolls-Royce and Reliance Industries have announced plans to work together on the design, development and manufacture of an indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme, according to the company.
The British engineering group and Indian conglomerate announced their strategic intent on 14 August, setting out a proposed partnership that would cover the development, production and delivery of an engine for the future AMCA fighter.
Under the plans outlined in a Rolls-Royce news update, the two companies will also explore establishing a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex in India focused on power and propulsion technology. The proposed facility would be intended to support an end-to-end Indian capability covering engine design, development, manufacturing, testing, production and through-life support.
The announcement concerns strategic intent rather than the award of an AMCA engine contract. Rolls-Royce and Reliance said they would jointly offer their capabilities for the programme and examine how an Indian industrial and engineering base could be established around the proposed engine.
India’s AMCA programme is intended to deliver a new-generation combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force, with the propulsion system representing one of the programme’s major technology requirements. The latest proposal centres on developing that capability within India rather than supplying a completed foreign engine.
Anant Ambani, Executive Director of Reliance Industries Limited, said, as quoted in a news update: “India’s strategic autonomy requires sovereign capability in critical technologies. Our intent with Rolls-Royce is to combine their world-leading expertise in advanced propulsion with Reliance’s technology, manufacturing, scale and execution capabilities to build an indigenous aero-engine ecosystem in India.”
He added: “Together, we aim to build an enduring national capability that can make India self-reliant and, over time, globally competitive in advanced propulsion technologies. This is our contribution to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Viksit Bharat.”
Tufan Erginbilgiç, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce plc, said, as quoted in the same news update: “I welcome the opportunity to join forces with Reliance Industries, bringing together our century-long heritage in advanced engineering and proven engine expertise with their homegrown leadership in Indian industry.”
He continued: “Together, with our existing partnerships and capabilities in India, this marks a major milestone towards building a robust, self-reliant aerospace ecosystem in the country.”
The proposed Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex would form a central element of the collaboration. According to the companies, it would be designed to create Indian capability across the full lifecycle of advanced aero engines rather than concentrating solely on final assembly or component production.
Image via FlyingDaggers45SQUADRON, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
