General Electric Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited have reached a landmark technical agreement to co-produce F414 jet engines in India, with nearly 80 per cent of the manufacturing technology and intellectual property rights transferring to HAL.
A formal contract is expected before the end of the current financial year. This agreement covers the engine that will power the TEJAS MK-2, a heavier successor to the TEJAS MK-1A currently in service with the Indian Air Force.
India plans to produce 99 F414 engines domestically in the first tranche, against an IAF requirement of 120 to 130 TEJAS MK-2 fighters. The same engine is also slated to power the first two squadrons of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India’s fifth-generation programme in development.
GE holds roughly 80 per cent of the F414’s intellectual property, with the remainder distributed among other American suppliers. Both portions are being transferred to India, marking the first time Washington has made such a deep fighter jet propulsion technology transfer to New Delhi.
Rita Flaherty, GE Aerospace’s Vice President for Sales and Business Development (Defence and Systems), emphasised the significance of this step, noting that only a handful of companies worldwide possess such capability, and India will now be able to develop it domestically.
India’s journey to this point has been long. In 1961, the HAL HF-24 Marut, India’s first indigenously designed jet fighter, made its maiden flight. Designed by German engineer Kurt Tank, the airframe was sound but underpowered, relying on the Bristol Siddeley Orpheus engine throughout its service life.
Attempts to source a more capable engine, including collaboration with Egypt and Austrian engineer Ferdinand Brandner, failed. The Marut fought in the 1971 war with the same engine and was retired in 1990, never achieving its full potential.
In 1989, India launched the Kaveri programme to build a domestic engine for the TEJAS Light Combat Aircraft. Despite decades of testing and modification, the Kaveri has never powered an operational fighter, leaving India reliant on GE’s F404 engines for the TEJAS.
This week’s agreement marks the first time the United States has transferred fighter jet engine technology to India at such depth.
The Soviet Union and later Russia had licensed MiG-series and Sukhoi-30MKI engine production to Indian facilities, but those were on Moscow’s terms. The F414 deal is structurally different, with a NATO-aligned power handing a non-NATO partner the intellectual property to manufacture one of the West’s frontline fighter engines domestically.
The groundwork was laid through years of cooperation, beginning with the Industrial Security Agreement in 2019 and a 2021 protocol for exchanging classified defence industry information.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2023 state visit to Washington produced the formal commitment, followed by three years of technical negotiations that have now concluded.
Commercial negotiations between GE and HAL will follow, with global component costs influencing pricing. Once the final contract is signed, HAL will establish a dedicated manufacturing facility with GE’s support, aiming for operational readiness within two years.
The urgency is underscored by the IAF’s current low fighter squadron strength amid a dual-front security environment involving China and Pakistan.
GE has also indicated openness to engaging on engines in the 120kN thrust category for future Indian platforms beyond the TEJAS and AMCA.
Separately, GE Aerospace has signed a contract with the IAF to establish an in-country depot for maintenance of F404-IN20 engines powering the 35 TEJAS jets in service and the 180 TEJAS MK-1A aircraft on order. The sixth F404-IN20 engine has already been delivered to HAL.
The depot will be owned and operated by the IAF, with GE providing technical expertise, training, spare parts, and specialised tooling. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri met US Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment Mike Duffey in Washington the week before the announcement.
India has struggled for decades to build a jet engine powerful enough to match its aircraft designs. The Marut never received one, and the Kaveri has yet to power a single sortie.
With this agreement, GE and HAL have given India the technology to change that trajectory, ensuring that future Indian combat aircraft can be powered by engines manufactured within the country.
IDN (With Agency Inputs)
