Context: During India’s Prime Minister’s visit to the US, it is expected that a deal will be announced between the US General Electric (GE) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the manufacture under license in India of GE’s F414 engine for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk2.

India’s quest for indigenous aero-engines

• In the 1960s, India’s first indigenous fighter HF-24 Marut was envisioned as a supersonic jet.

• But it failed to achieve its potential for want of a suitable engine and was then phased out.

• The Kaveri engine project was sanctioned in late 1989, to develop an indigenous military gas turbine engine for the LCA project.

• The military gas turbine engine could not be integrated with the LCAs as it failed to meet the necessary technical requirements. 

• This will now be utilised for drone technologies.

• India has shortlisted American GE-F404 engines for LCA Tejas Mark-1 as an interim measure when Kaveri programme was still ongoing.

• In 2010, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has selected the more powerful variant, F414 engines, to power Tejas Mark-2.

• The deal did not materialise due to U.S. domestic legislation.

About the deal

• It will allow American manufacturing company General Electric (GE) Aerospace to share critical technology with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

• This will help in the joint production of GE-F414 jet engines that will power indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk-II.

• According to media reports, the U.S. has agreed to transfer ~80% of the tech value to India, which is unprecedented.

Need for the deal

• India has seen substantial accomplishments in various defence and space programmes and has also designed and built a fighter jet – LCA Tejas.

• However, India hasn’t achieved much success in producing engines to power these aircraft.

Significance of this jet engine deal between India and the US

• Firstly, it represents a significant step forward for the India-US defense relationship. Previous attempts to share defence technology, such as the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative, did not live up to expectations. The GE deal, which will involve the transfer of technology to India, could mark a decisive shift from these past failures.

• Secondly, the deal will allow India to make advanced jet engines. Only a handful of countries — such as the US, Russia, the UK, and France — have mastered the technology and metallurgy needed to manufacture an engine that can power combat aircraft. The jet engine deal will thus be an important step forward in India’s journey to develop a domestic defence industrial base.

What is the F414 Engine?

• The F414 engine is a turbofan engine that is part of General Electric’s (GE) suite of military aircraft engines which the U.S. Navy has been using for the last thirty years.

• Over the years, the company has delivered more than 1600 F414 engines that have a combined 5 million flight hours on a variety of missions.

• The engines belong to the 98kN or 22,000 lb class and feature advanced technologies such as FADEC or Full Authority Digital Electronic Control, which has been described by GE as the latest aircraft ignition and engine control system that is capable of controlling engine performance digitally.

• According to GE, the engine’s components have an extended lifetime and improved performance due to the use of advanced materials and cooling techniques.

• GE has stated that F414 engine-powered aircraft are either in operation or on order in 8 countries.

• These include the F414-GE-400 engines that power the US Navy’s Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA18G Growler electronic attack aircraft and the single-engine variant F414G which powers Saab’s Gripen E/F fighters.

• The F414 engines could also power emerging platforms such as the KF-X, a South Korea led-programme for fighter aircraft development.

Where will the F414 be used In India?

• The Aeronautical Development Agency of the Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO) selected the F414-INS6 engine i.e. the India-specific version of the F414 for use in the LCA Tejas Mk2.

• The LCA Tejas is powered by the GE-404-IN20 engine which was developed in the 1970s.

• The basic design of the GE-404-IN20 is replicated in the F414 engine which could also power the prototypes and initial batches of India’s fifth-generation fighter aircraft - the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

• However, Safran SA (France) which co-developed the Shakti engine with HAL is a potential alternative for the AMCA project.

• The Shakti engine is used to power the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand.

What are the other technologies mentioned in the agreement?

• According to experts, the F414 INS6 engine will be manufactured in India with around 80% of value and technology being transferred to HAL.

• The agreement will also include at least 11 other major manufacturing technologies which are not readily available in India including special coatings for corrosion, erosion, and thermal barrier for hot end; machining and coating for single crystal turbine blades.

Conclusion

• The pact will end India’s pursuit of advanced combat jet engine technology and allow it to develop its technological capacities in line with its Make in India ambitions. The agreement would also allow India to build better relations with the U.S.A. while preparing itself to meet the threats faced by the country on both fronts.