Under this joint venture the Intellectual Property Right (IPR) will be retained by India for High Thrust Low bypass engine (110kn+).

In 2021, Rolls-Royce in India said it was interested in collaborating with India to co-develop and produce engines for India’s AMCA fifth-generation fighter aircraft project.

It has been reported in Financial Express Online that in 2017 both India and the UK had agreed to cooperate in the development of advanced defence projects and this also included the gas turbine engine and air defence missile systems. And, as reported in Financial Express Online, there is a collaborative project Defence Research and Development Organisation and the British engine maker Rolls Royce on jet engine technology.

According to reports Kishore Jayaraman, president of Rolls-Royce India and South Asia, has said that if a partnership is formed, the Indian government will hold the Intellectual Property (IP) rights for the engines.

According to company officials, Rolls-Royce feels it can be an effective partner for AMCA’s engine manufacturing in India. This area represents the future – to co-develop, co-manufacture, and co-create.  And it is consistent with India’s indigenous design and manufacturing drive and the Atmanirbhar way.

For the Rafale fighters, Rolls Royce has offered a Eurojet EJ200 version with 110-120KN thrust. The SAFRAN-DRDO joint venture is planned with complete ToT and is based on the M88 engine base type.

On the other hand the United States’ interest in the fighter engine programme has lately been rekindled. Due to American reluctance to share core or hot engine technology, the India-US Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) collaboration on jet engine technology was postponed in October 2019. Within the DTTI framework, a joint working group on jet engine technology was subsequently disbanded. However, in the first development phase of the AMCA project, a commercially available GE-414 engine will be purchased and installed.

There is no agreement yet in place between DRDO and RR, since the NGFA 110kn+ is not expected to begin development until 2030. Depending on the final cost of the engine project, a joint IP is also considered in addition to an Indian-only IP.

Approximately 250 GE-404 84KN engines are required to power the LCA Mk1/1A. India has ordered only half of the requirement from GE. The GE-414’s other two opponents are the Rolls Royce EJ 200 engine and the Safran M-88 – 4 engine.

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Johnson said the defense cooperation pact would boost procurement across several areas, but offered few details during a press conference wrapping up the two-day visit to India. The trip was aimed principally at progressing talks about a free trade deal between the nations.

But Johnson said the two countries would seek closer defense procurement “to meet threats across land, sea and air, space and cyber, including partnering on new fighter jet technology [and] maritime technologies to detect and respond to threats in the oceans.”

The reference to a fighter technology partnership likely relates to British efforts to bring India onboard its sixth-generation Tempest Future Combat Air System program.

The program, launched by the British in 2018, has been the subject of talks with India for some time as part of a broader push to attract international partners into development of a combat jet with an in-service date of around the middle of the next decade.

Britain is already partnering with Italy and Sweden in the technology development effort and recently agreed to cooperate with Japan on sensor and propulsion systems.

BAE Systems, Leonardo, MBDA, Rolls-Royce and Saab are leading the early phases of the technology development program.

A statement issued by the British High Commission in India said both leaders “noted cooperation in key areas of strategic collaboration including modern fighter aircraft and jet engine advanced core technology.”

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the statement he “welcomed the UK announcement of an ‘open general export license’ [in defense] to facilitate technology engagement with India, and the open opportunity for India to participate in the UK’s aviation and naval shipbuilding programs.”

On the maritime front, the two sides have agreed to partner on electric propulsion capability.

Johnson said the arrangement would boost Indian efforts to increase the percentage of defense procurement manufactured locally.

“We have agreed to a new and expanded defense and security partnership, a decades-long commitment that will not only forge tighter bonds between us, but support your goal of Make in India,” he said, referring to India’s drive for greater domestic manufacturing in the defense sector.

India is one of the world’s largest importers of defense technology, but it’s a market dominated by Russia, which accounts for more than 50% of inward sales.

India has come under criticism from the UK and US over the refusal by Modi to condemn the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, but the issue appeared to be sidelined during the talks between the two sides.

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In a major boost to Defence Production under the ‘Make in India’ initiative and towards achieving self-reliance in the critical field of Defence equipment, Goa Shipyard has placed a maiden order on Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) for supply of an upgraded Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM), the Main gun onboard most Warships of the Indian Navy.

The order envisages supply, installation and commissioning of the entire system – Upgraded SRGM and accessories for Triput Class Frigates of the Indian Navy, which will be manufactured by the Haridwar unit of BHEL.

The upgraded SRGM is a state-of-the-art weapon system having additional features such as capability to manage different types of ammunition to engage fast, manoeuvring and non-manoeuvring, radio controlled targets. The upgraded SRGM has the capability to fire advanced Ammunition with higher range and programmable ammunition.

BHEL has been a reliable supplier of critical equipment and services in the Defence and Aerospace sector for over three decades with the aim of making a major contribution towards self-reliance in these sectors.

Towards this, BHEL has established dedicated, intricate manufacturing and inspection facilities at its manufacturing plants, for production, installation & commissioning and lifecycle support of various products and components. The initiatives taken by BHEL will be a driving force towards the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan of the Government of India.

LCA-Mk2 to Roll Out Next Year

The configuration for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk2 has been frozen and steel cutting is expected to begin soon while configuration for the fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) has been frozen and preliminary design completed, Dr Girish S. Deodhare, Programme Director (Combat Aircraft) & Director, ADA, said at a seminar in New Delhi on 12 September.

“The detailed design is complete. In fact, we are in the critical design review stage and metal cutting should start very shortly. Roll-out of the aircraft (Mk2) is planned next year and the first flight in early 2023. We are well on track to achieve these goals,” Dr Deodhare said.

The aircraft features enhanced range and endurance including an onboard oxygen generation system, which is being integrated for the first time, Dr. Deodhare said.

Heavy weapons of the class of Scalp, Crystal Maze and Spice-2000 will also be integrated on the Mk2. The LCA-Mk2 will be a heavier and much more capable aircraft than the current LCA variants.

The Mk2 is 1,350 mm longer featuring canards and can carry a payload of 6,500 kg compared to 3,500 kg the LCA can carry.
In February, the Defence Ministry signed a Rs 48,000-crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) to supply 83 LCA-Mk1A to the Indian Air Force. In August, the HAL signed a $716 million deal with GE Aviation of the U.S. for 99 F404 aircraft engines and support services to power the Mk-1A. The Mk2 will be powered by a more powerful GE-414 engine.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has one squadron of the LCA in initial operational clearance and deliveries of the second squadron in final operational clearance configuration are under way.

The HAL has already set up a second assembly line to ramp up production from eight aircraft a year to 16. Order for 83 Mk-1A is expected to be completed by 2028-29, Dr. Deodhare said.

Preliminary Design Review of AMCA Completed

According to Dr Girish S. Deodhare, Programme Director (Combat Aircraft) & Director, ADA, the the configuration of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) had been frozen, preliminary service quality requirements finalised and preliminary design review completed. The initial design of the AMCA was started way back in 2009.

“We are moving to critical design review by the middle of next year with the roll-out planned in 2024 and first flight planned in 2025,” he said at a seminar on 12 September, in New Delhi.

The AMCA would be a twin engine stealth aircraft with an internal weapons bay and a diverterless supersonic intake, which has been developed for the first time for which the design is complete.

It will be a 25-tonne aircraft with internal carriage of 1,500 kg of payload and 5,500-kg external payload with 6,500 kg of internal fuel.

The AMCA will have stealth and non-stealth configuration and will be developed in two phases, AMCA Mk1 with existing GE414 engine and an AMCA Mk2 with an advanced, more powerful engine to be developed later along with a foreign partner, Dr. Deodhare added.

The manufacturing and production of the aircraft will be through a special purpose vehicle, which will also have participation of private industry.

Simultaneously, the project for development of a twin-engine deck-based fighter jet meant to fly from the Navy’s aircraft carriers is also making progress. On the various programmes under way, Dr. Deodhare said there was commonality of systems and technologies.

Aerostructures of Boeing’s F-15EX Eagle II to be Built in India

Aerospace major Boeing has awarded a contract to India-based Dynamatic Technologies for manufacturing assemblies for its tactical fighter ‘F-15EX Eagle II’. This is a first instance in which aerostructures for F-15EX Eagle II will be made in India. Besides, the contract will given a boost to the ‘Aatmanirbhar’ programme and strengthens US-India collaboration on aerospace and defence industrialisation.

Accordingly, Dynamatic Technologies will supply the F-15EX aerostructure assembly requirements from FY22. The company will manufacture these aerostructures from their manufacturing facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
According to Boeing India President Salil Gupte: “We see tremendous potential for India to contribute to the global aerospace industry as an industrial and technology partner.”

“The award of aerostructure assemblies for the latest and most advanced version of the F-15 aircraft family is a reflection of Boeing’s focus on Aatmanirbhar Bharat and a testimony to the world class capability of our industrial partners in India.”

Army Taps Tonbo Imaging for Specialised Sights

The Army has placed orders with with a Bengaluru-based firm – Tonbo Imaging – for specialised sights under emergency procurement to help some of its elite units operating in both urban warfare and at the borders. The order for two set of sights as part of a spate of emergency procurement being done was placed “recently”.

One contract is for about 600 pieces of multi-functional thermal imaging binoculars for target acquisition and the other is for multi mission-sight, which can be mounted on the helmet and also the weapon.

The contract value is for over Rs 100 crore and the procurement is being done by the Infantry Directorate, adding that while earlier the Northern Command had procured one of these sights for its soldiers in smaller batches, this time the Army Headquarters is doing it.

They also said that there would be a larger procurement order in play if the systems, which have to be delivered in 12 months, perform according to expectations.

The multi-mission sights are lighter and more tuned for close combat.

Tonbo Imaging is one of the few companies in the world to manufacture such systems. Some of their products are deployed at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) during the ongoing Ladakh standoff for surveillance operations.

When the company initially began commercial operations around 2012, it focused on the global market. Five countries were buying their products before India bought from Tonbo. Founder Arvind Lakshmikumar’s prior work with US’ DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) helped him get recognition of products early on in the US market.

Rolls-Royce, HAL Pact for Adour Engine Parts

Rolls-Royce and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed a “Make in India” agreement, on 14 September, to manufacture parts for Rolls-Royce’s Adour engines that will support the UK-headquartered company’s international defence customer base.
Variants of the Adour engine power the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Jaguar fighters as well as its fleet of Hawk advanced jet trainers (AJT). The IAF has the world’s largest serving fleets of both these aircraft. HAL has manufactured and supported Adour engine variants, under licence from Rolls-Roy­ce, over several decades.

However, Rolls-Royce now aims to strengthen the spares and maintenance eco­system for Adour engi­nes in India. Rolls-Royce and HAL signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during Aero India 2021, in February, to establish an Authorised Maintenance Centre for Adour at HAL to support international military customers and operators.

Rolls-Royce underscores a three-point aim in the current initiative. The first is to equip Indian manufacturers with the knowhow, pro­cesses and experience to build complex parts that require a lot of high-technology processes. That would en­hance current capabilities and serve to make India atmanirbhar (self-reliant). Secondly, exporting parts from India would enhance supply chain efficiency and benefit Rolls-Royce’s global operators. Thirdly, since the Adour engines will continue to fly in India for the longest time, a self-sufficient supply chain would be in place to support those older engines.

Thales to Provide Emerging Technologies for Armed Forces

Leading French defence major Thales Group is planning to focus significantly on addressing requirements of the Indian armed forces for new-age cyber security solutions, artificial intelligence and advanced capabilities in big data analytics.

Chairman and CEO of Thales Group Patrice Caine said the company has been looking at expanding its overall footprint in India, particularly in the areas of emerging technologies that will be crucial for the armed forces.

The Indian Army, the Navy and the Indian Air Force have been focusing on acquiring futuristic technologies like nanotechnology, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, swarm drones and robotic technologies to deal with future security challenges.

Thales Group is aiming at expanding its overall footprint in India in a number of segments, including in areas of cyber security, artificial intelligence and digital solutions.

India is expected to spend close to $300 billion in the next five years in procuring defence equipment and almost all major global defence firms are eyeing a slice of it.

India is now considered as a key country for sourcing various raw materials for the company’s global production line and it is going to double procurement from the country in the next five years.

Thales is part of the French firms that provided key components for the Rafale jets procured by India. As part of Thales’ offsets commitments under the Rafale deal, the company helped Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) in producing modules for the RBE2 radar.

Thales has been providing avionics and other equipment to the state-run aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for over four decades and is involved in supplying equipment for various other key military projects.

Present in India since 1953, Thales has offices in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai, among others. Over 600 employees are working with Thales and its joint ventures in India.

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