Kaveri Engine Test: India saw an important day in its defence journey this week. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh watched a successful full afterburner test of the homegrown Kaveri engine. The test happened on February 16 at the Gas Turbine Research Establishment in Bengaluru. This is a big step for India because the country wants to build powerful jet engines on its own for fighter aircraft.
For many years the Kaveri engine project had one big problem. It could not produce enough “wet thrust” which means extra power that comes when fuel is added into the exhaust to make the engine stronger. Earlier versions of the afterburner could only reach about 73 kilonewtons of thrust. That was not enough for fast and modern fighter jets.
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Now things look better. The latest test used a newly designed afterburner system. This new part was made with help from BrahMos Aerospace, a company famous for building supersonic cruise missiles. The improved system is made to push the engine to around 81 to 83 kilonewtons. That is more than 60% higher compared to the engine’s normal power. This puts the Kaveri close to the American GE F404 engine which gives about 84 kilonewtons and is used in India’s Tejas Mk1 fighter jets.
Strong Base Engine
Before adding the powerful afterburner the main engine core was already doing well. This core engine is called the “Dry Kaveri” or Kaveri Derivative Engine. Recent ground tests and high altitude tests showed that it can give around 49 to 51 kilonewtons of dry thrust in a stable way.
This dry version is planned to power the DRDO Ghatak, which is India’s future stealth unmanned combat drone. But now with a strong afterburner working properly, there is fresh hope that the Kaveri engine may also be used in manned fighter jets later. It could power the Tejas Mk1A or even help in the development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme.
Improtance for India
Making jet engines is often called the “Holy Grail” of defence technology. Only a few countries like the US, Russia, France, the UK, and China can fully build such engines on their own. For a long time India had to depend on foreign engines. This created risks because supply chains and parts came from outside.
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During his visit, Rajnath Singh said it is very important for India to master this technology for Aatmanirbharta. He told scientists to move faster and cut down development time. He said that while other countries took many decades to perfect such engines, India must use Artificial Intelligence and modern materials to catch up quickly. He also asked researchers to think ahead and work on 6th generation propulsion systems instead of stopping at current levels.
