India fighter jet engines planned by Reliance, Rolls-Royce

Reliance Industries and Rolls-Royce announced plans Friday to jointly design and manufacture engines for India's Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft fighter jet programme.

The companies said they intended to partner on a sovereign indigenous combat engine for the AMCA, India's flagship fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter being developed locally for the air force. They did not disclose the scale of investment planned for the partnership.

Reliance, India's largest private-sector company, has expanded into defence production in aerospace and munitions as New Delhi pushes domestic military manufacturing under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “Make in India” initiative.

Rolls-Royce builds engines for Airbus and Boeing aircraft as well as fighter jets. Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said the partnership marked a milestone for India's aerospace ecosystem, while Reliance Executive Director Anant Ambani said the companies aimed to build national capability in advanced propulsion technologies.

India has made defence modernisation a priority and has sought to reduce reliance on Russia, its traditional main supplier, while buying equipment from countries including the United States and France and expanding domestic production. The government approved $5.46 billion in military purchases last month and $39 billion of defence equipment earlier this year. India's current defence budget is $85 billion.