HAL, GE to produce jet engines for LCA Mark2, AMCA fighter jets in India

In a significant boost to India’s defence sector, the engines for the LCA Mark 2 and the first two squadrons of the indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) will be domestically produced, DRDO chief Dr Samir V Kamat said on Saturday.

“The engines of LCA Mark 2 and the first two squadrons of the indigenous Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft would be produced within the country together by American GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited as all the clearances have been received from the US,” DRDO chief Dr Samir V Kamat told ANI.

The HAL and GE from the US would be producing these engines jointly in a facility in India. On August 30, the Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the development of LCA Mark 2 fighter aircraft, which would be a replacement for the Mirage 2000, Jaguar and MiG-29 combat aircraft in the Indian Air Force (IAF).

“LCA Mark 2 fighter aircraft development project has been cleared by the government. This would pave the way for designers to develop an advanced 17.5-tonne single-engine aircraft. Development of new aircraft is to be completed by 2027,” Aeronautical Development Agency chief Girish Deodhare told ANI about the project.

He said the government has cleared the development of prototypes of which, the first is likely to roll out in a year and the project is scheduled to be completed by the year 2027 after extensive flying trials and other related work.

The DRDO feels that the aircraft would be in the category of the Rafale class aircraft in terms of avionics and capabilities but lighter in weight. The government has also cleared that the engines to be used in the aircraft should be Made in India after the initial development phase.

The DRDO would be developing the aircraft with a GE-414 engine, which is the advanced version of the GE-404s that power the existing LCAs in service and the 83 LCA Mark 1As which would start getting inducted into IAF in the next couple of years.

At present, 30 LCAs are in service with the IAF and two are being used by the HAL to develop the Mark 1As. The AMCA aircraft development proposal is also with the government and is expected to be approved shortly but with a lot of Indigenisation inputs from the government.