New Delhi: In what is being called the beginning of a new era of India-US partnership, American firm General Electric on Thursday announced the signing of an MoU with India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. (HAL) To jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force (IAF) with “significant transfer of technology and work being done indigenously”.
The deal, which could finally end India’s quest to manufacture its own jet engines since the 1960s, is a major highlight of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing state visit to the US.
The agreement includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India and GE Aerospace will continue to work with the US government to obtain the necessary export authorization for the same, the US firm said in a statement.
Sources in the defense and security establishment said an actual deal would be signed after both sides understand the specifics and the deal would go through the US Congress, which would require its nod.
withdrawal from the US Congress There is a 30 day process.
Sources said that once approved, HAL would work at its engine division facility in Bengaluru and the co-production would not happen through a joint venture.
Jet engine technology is seen as the holy grail when it comes to aviation. While many countries, including India, To build their own fighter aircraft, only a select few have mastered the technology of engine building.
When asked how much is involved in transfer of technology (TOT), given the fact that some reports put its value at 80 per cent, the sources declined to divulge details, saying everything was still under discussion. is in and the finer details have yet to be decided. Above.
“The scale of the TOT and the engine manufacturing done in India will be very important. It will not be an assembly but a joint production,” said a source.
The sources underlined that the jet engine partnership heralds the beginning of a new era in Indo-US ties.
As Reported by ThePrintToT for jet engines was the main focus of National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval’s talks with his US counterpart Jack Sullivan in February, when they also moderated the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) Was.
The F414 engine, which is an afterburning turbofan engine in the 22,000 lb (98 KN) thrust category of engines, was shortlisted by India in 2010 to power the Mark II version of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft. (LCA) Tejas, which currently comes with the GE F404 engine.
Once engine production starts CountryF414 engine It will power all future fighter aircraft for the Indian Navy, including the Tejas Mk II and the indigenous Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF).
Boeing Super Hornets and the Swedish fighter Gripen, both available to the Indian Army, are among the aircraft that run on this engine.
India is also working on more than 5th generation fighter aircraft, known as Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which can be operated through new version of high thrust class.
Sources said the path adopted for the partnership could eventually lead to joint design, development and manufacturing of more powerful engines. Sources said as per the program plan, the process would involve making parts for the engines in the first phase, after which it would actually move to the full phase, which would take at least a decade.
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discovery of the jet engine
India has been pursuit of jet engine technology for decades, and was shaped by the problems faced by the country’s first indigenous fighter aircraft, the HF-24 Marut.
The aircraft was originally to be powered by a Bristol Orpheus 12 engine, but was fitted with the less powerful Bristol Orpheus 703 after a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) project to develop the engine failed.
The Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) in Bengaluru eventually developed a more powerful version of the Orpheus 703 with an afterburner, which significantly increased engine power, but was found to be unsuitable for the Marut’s airframe.
And the search resumed in 1983 when the government approved work on the LCA project after feasibility studies in India and abroad showed that no fully suitable engine was available worldwide, the Rolls-Royce RB- 1989 and the GE F404-F2J, by and large, meets the requirement.
Since 1982, GTRE had been working on the indigenous GTX-37 engine, and insisted on adopting it on the LCA. In December 1986, it proposed the development of the Kaveri engine for which the government sanctioned Rs 382.86 crore in March the following year.
While GTRE developed nine prototypes of the Kaveri engine, as well as four core engines, which underwent 3,217 hours of engine testing, including in Russia, they failed to meet the parameters required to power the fighter aircraft.
Instead of the so-called ‘wet thrust’ of 81 kN – the thrust the engine should produce when the fighter requires maximum power – the Kaveri generated only 70.4 kN.
GE enters India through LCA program
GE began working with the Aeronautical Development Agency in 1986 HAL will assist in the development of LCA with F404 engine. Thereafter, the F404 and F414 have been part of GE Aerospace’s development and production. Programs LCA Mk1 and Mk2.
In total, 75 F404 engines have been delivered and another 99 are on order for the LCA Mk1A. The American company said in a statement that eight F414 engines have been delivered as part of the ongoing development program for the LCA Mk2.
Friday’s The agreement builds on GE Aerospace’s previous commitment to build 99 engines for the Indian Air Force as part of the LCA Mk2 program. “This puts the company in a strong position to build a family of products in India, which includes the F404 engine that currently powers the LCA Mk1 and LCA Mk1A aircraft and will partner with us for the AMCA program’s prototype development, testing and Includes selection of GE Aerospace for certification. F414-INS6 engine, ”said the statement.
It further added that GE would continue to collaborate with the Indian government on the AMCA Mk2 engine program.
(Edited by Tony Rae)
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