India's Reliance to partner with Rolls-Royce on combat engine for fighter jets

Reliance Industries said on Friday it planned to partner with Britain’s Rolls-Royce to develop and manufacture an engine for India’s fighter jet programme, as the country aims to build its most advanced stealth combat aircraft.

A prototype of the jet, known as the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, is expected to roll out in 2028 and play a key role in India’s future air combat strategy.

Last year, India approved a framework to build its most advanced stealth fighter jet and invited interest from defence firms.

In a move to reduce its dependence on imported defence equipment, the country also opened the door for domestic companies to participate in developing the twin-engine stealth fighter, approving the execution model for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.

Under the proposed partnership announced on Friday, Reliance and Rolls-Royce will explore forming a dedicated aerospace gas turbine complex in India to jointly develop the engine.

India clears proposal to buy 114 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault, reports say

“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,” Reliance Executive Director Anant Ambani said in a statement.

The announcement potentially positions the British aero-engine maker against France’s Safran, which has separately proposed a joint venture with India’s state-run GTRE to develop a higher-thrust engine for later versions of the AMCA fighter.

Hindustan Aeronautics manufactures the 4.5-generation Tejas fighter jet, but has faced slow engine deliveries from General Electric due to supply chain issues faced by the U.S. firm.

Rolls-Royce, which has previously worked with India on military propulsion programmes, supplies engines for a range of defence and civil aerospace applications.