Rolls-Royce Engine for India’s AMCA: Rolls-Royce has put forward a big offer for India’s future stealth fighter plan. The company wants to co-develop a new jet engine for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft or AMCA, and also set up a special aero gas-turbine complex in India. Sashi Mukundan, the company’s executive vice-president for transformation in India, said Rolls-Royce, with support from the UK government, is ready to build the complex with full technology transfer. The offer is aimed at India’s AMCA Mk2, which needs a stronger engine than the first version of the fighter.
Mukundan also said the company is prepared to “co-design and co-develop the engine in India, for India,” with full transfer of engine “know-how and know-why”. Rolls-Royce says the engine is not just a changed old model. It is a new design from scratch. The company says it wants the engine to be made in India and to have joint ownership of the new intellectual property. That would let India improve and change the engine later without outside limits.
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What is the Engine Plan?
Rolls-Royce plans to significantly expand its sourcing footprint in India, alongside exploring opportunities to deepen its presence across aerospace, defence, and advanced propulsion technologies, while strengthening partnerships with the Indian industry and academia.
In this…
— Rolls-Royce India (@RollsRoyceIndia) June 2, 2026
The AMCA programme is India’s big fifth-generation stealth fighter project. The first version, AMCA Mk1, is expected to use the American GE F414 engine. The more advanced AMCA Mk2 will need a new engine in the 110–130 kN thrust class. DRDO material from 2025 said that this new engine is important for supercruise and stealth optimisation, with the first AMCA flight planned for 2029-2030 and induction aimed for 2035.
Rolls-Royce says its offer is for 110 kN wet thrust, with room to grow to 120–130 kN. The company has also said ground trials could begin by 2032 and the first flight by 2034. It says this engine is meant to support future upgrades too. That is a big point for India, because the country wants more control over one of the most sensitive parts of a fighter jet.
Why does India care for this?
India has struggled for many years to build a combat-ready jet engine of its own. The old Kaveri engine project, started by DRDO’s GTRE in 1986, went through long testing but did not meet the needed thrust. DRDO records say nine prototype engines and four core variants were built, with 3,217 hours of testing. The required wet thrust was 81 kN, but Kaveri reached only 70.4 kN. It was later removed from the Tejas programme. The Tejas Mk1 and Mk2 then moved to American GE engines instead.
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The Kaveri engine has not disappeared completely. DRDO has been looking at it for use in unmanned aircraft, including the Ghatak stealth drone project. That is why the AMCA engine decision matters so much. India wants a real fighter engine this time, not another long delay.
The Three-Way Fight
Safran of France has also offered a joint development plan based on its M88 engine family and says it can give 100% technology transfer with full intellectual property rights and no export restrictions. GE too is pushing an upgraded version of its F414 family. But it is still less open on full technology transfer, which remains a major issue for India. As of the reports checked here, no final selection had been announced.
