MoD To Fill Gap In Defence Aircraft Engine, Lines Up To Buy Worth Of Rs 1.5 Tn

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) discerns a gap in Indian self-reliance in the fields of aeronautical, marine and land systems engines, according to a media report on Sunday.

Reports claim a growing number of tie-ups between Indian defence firms and foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) on engines notify the growing focus on this field.

Considering the coming decade, the Indian military can be expected to buy around thousand engines for fighter aircraft alone. An estimated data suggests 28 engines for 114 multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA), 83 engines for as many Tejas Mark 1A fighters, 126 Tejas Mark 2 fighters and 294 engines for 147 twin-engine. Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and 117 engines for 57 twin-engine Multi-Role Carrier Borne Aircraft (MRCBF).

Meanwhile, an existing acquisition provides an indication of the cost of such engines, a Rs 5,375 crore contract with General Electric (GE) for 99 GE F-404IN engine, putting the respective engine cost at Rs 55 crore.

The rough cost of all the other engines which are more modern, powerful and expensive than the GE F-404IN engines is around  Rs 75 crore. And the MoD’s aero-engine purchase is likely to rise by Rs 75,000 crore and would strike a double to Rs 1.5 trillion over a decade.

In addition to these are the hundreds of aero-engines needed for the fleet of unarmed airborne vehicles (UAV), a new face of war. UAV engines are much lighter and cheaper than fighter aircraft engines since they are not required to power high-performance aircraft.

For now, Rolls-Royce solely offers to co-develop a high-performance aero engine with Indian partners.