The US has reoffered to co-develop the 110-kilonewton (kn) engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), Business World reported.
An earlier US offer in 2019 to jointly develop the fighter engine was shelved after disagreements arose over technology sharing between the two countries. The US was reluctant to share “core or hot engine technology” with India, the outlet wrote.
Citing former US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Ellen Lord, the outlet added that “the two sides could not come to an understanding of what exportable technologies would be useful to India.”
Other Offers
The revised offer by the US aircraft engine maker General Electric, meanwhile, follows similar offers by French and British engine makers Safran and Rolls Royce. All the offers are being considered, the India outlet wrote, citing sources.
India plans to power the second version of the fifth-generation aircraft, the AMCA-II, with the jointly-developed engine. Aircraft production is expected to begin around 2035.
The aircraft’s inaugural version and future projects such as the Tejas Mk-2 and the Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighter (TEDBF) will be powered by the GE-F414, which generates a thrust of 98 kn. Future versions of the TEDBF will be powered by the jointly-developed engine.
The outlet added that the recently developed 120 kn GE-F414 Enhanced Performance Engine will be ideal for the aircraft, as the engine’s enhanced power comes without any change in its dimensions, requiring no changes to the aircraft’s original design.