India will soon sign a deal of about Rs 8300 crore for supply of 113 GE-404 engines with the American company General Electric (GE). According to sources, the conversation is in a positive direction and it is expected to be finalized by September. This deal is going to happen at a time when US President Donald Trump has imposed 50 percent tariff on India.
Under the deal, American company GE will supply two engines to India every month from now on. The deal is the second major defense agreement after the tariff dispute between India and the US. The first agreement was Rs 62,000 crore, under which India decided to buy 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter aircraft.
Partnership between hal and ge
Government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has already dealt with 99 GE-404 engines for the initial 83 LCA Mark 1A aircraft ordered by the Indian Air Force. The new agreement is related to the purchase of 113 engines. After this, HAL will have a long supply chain of 212 engines, which will not delay production and delivery.
Future needs and GE-414 deal
India is not eyeing GE-404 only. Apart from this, India will need around 200 GE-414 engines for LCA Mark 2 and Advance Medium fighter aircraft (AMCA). HAL and Ge are also interacting on a large deal with technology transfer for these engines. This is an important step in the direction of Atmanirbhar Bharat in India’s defense sector.
Air Force will get new power
In the coming years, the Government of India has planned to remove step by step to the old MiG-21 fleet of the Air Force. 83 aircraft from HAL will be handed over to the Air Force by 2029-30 and 97 aircraft to 2033-34. With this, the Indian Air Force will get indigenous fighter aircraft equipped with state -of -the -art technology.
Indigenous engine project also released
India is also working on the indigenous fighter aircraft engine project to become completely self -sufficient. For this, India is collaborating with French company Safran. In future, this project can free the country from dependence on foreign engines.
Fighter jet engine capacity
The ability to create fighter jet engines in the world has only selected countries like America, Russia, France and Britain. India has developed its indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas, but its engine still has to be ordered from abroad. The Cauvery engine project was a major effort in this direction, but it could not succeed due to insufficient thrust and several technical limits.
Technical complexity is the biggest challenge
Creating fighter jet engine is hundreds of times harder than a normal car engine. There are some major reasons for this, including excessive temperature and pressure. In this, the fighter engine has to work continuously at a temperature of more than 1500 ° C and at very high pressure. To bear this, super alloy and single crystal blades are required. Apart from this, advance manufacturing techniques, laser drilling, hot-end thermal coatings are required.
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