GE promises twenty F404 engines by year-end; HAL to receive 6th engine by month end
New Delhi: India and the US achieved a key breakthrough on coproduction of fighter jet engines, with GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd reaching an agreement on technical matters. This is likely to be followed by the signing of a final contract later this year, in what would be a major boost to the Indian Air Force's attempts to reverse its depleting fighter squadron strength and grow the fleet, critical for a two-front war with China and Pakistan.
The US aerospace company also announced the signing of a contract with IAF for setting up a depot facility for F404 engines that currently powers the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), seen as a major future backbone of the air force.
Rita Flaherty, vice president, sales and business development for defence and systems at GE Aerospace, told ET that the "hardest part" of technical discussions, which include a complex and deep transfer of technology for the more-advanced F414 engines to India, have recently been concluded.
"GE Aerospace is pleased to announce significant progress regarding F414 coproduction today, having reached agreement on technical matters related to the work," she said. "This agreement marks a significant step forward in strengthening economic growth and advancing national security interests in both India and the US and further expands the 40-year partnership between GE Aerospace and HAL," said Flaherty, who was visiting India for the stakeholder discussions.
Terming it as a "landmark agreement", she said this would result in transfer of manufacturing technology of the powerful engine, supporting India's mission of moving towards self-reliance. Flaherty said GE is transferring manufacturing technology to India and owns about 80% of the engine's intellectual property rights. The balance is held by other US suppliers.
"These are extraordinarily capable machines, but they're also complex," she said. "We can count on one hand all the companies in the world that can do this kind of capability, and now we are bringing this to India, so India can do it for themselves."
GE and HAL will now move to the next phase of holding commercial discussions. These are expected to take some time as global prices for components have risen significantly in the past months. The final signing of the contract is expected this financial year, followed by HAL setting up a manufacturing facility in India with GE's assistance. The plan is to have the facility up and running within two years of contract signing.
As part of the deal, 99 engines will be manufactured in India, powering the Mk2 variant of LCA. IAF has projected a demand for 120-130 Tejas Mk2 fighters, which, if accepted by the government, is likely to swell the order size beyond 99 engines. In addition to LCA, the first two squadrons of the futuristic Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) are also likely to be powered by the same engine.
Flaherty underlined that GE is interested in continuing discussions with India for developing higher thrust engines of the 120kN class for next generation fighter jets
On F404 engines for LCA Mk1a, which have faced significant delays, Flaherty said the sixth engine has arrived in India and that GE is focused on timely deliveries, also considering that there is no compromise on safety and quality standards. On the new depot facility for F404, she said it would be owned, operated, and maintained by IAF, with GE providing technical inputs, training, support staff and ensuring supply of necessary spares and specialised equipment.
. Now sign the deal ASAP.
