48 kN Thrust "Dry Kaveri" Engine for Ghatak UCAV Set for Flight Testing on IL-76 Platform in Russia Next Year

India's quest for self-reliance in aero-engine technology is gaining momentum with the upcoming flight tests of the "Dry Kaveri" engine. Developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), this new variant of the Kaveri engine is specifically designed to power unmanned platforms, and it's set to undergo crucial trials in Russia next year.

Godrej Aerospace, which has been tasked with manufacturing eight modules of the Dry Kaveri, is expected to deliver the engine to GTRE by February. This engine is designed to produce 48 kN of thrust without an afterburner, making it lighter and less complex than earlier versions of the Kaveri. This is a crucial factor for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) where weight and efficiency are paramount.

Following initial ground tests in India, the Dry Kaveri will be transported to Russia for integration into an IL-76 aircraft at the Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI) in Moscow.

The IL-76, a robust and versatile aircraft, will serve as a flying testbed for the engine, allowing for high-altitude and real-flight condition simulations. This is a critical step in the engine's development, as it provides valuable data on performance, endurance, and integration with existing aircraft systems.

The integration process involves replacing one of the IL-76's engines with the Dry Kaveri, enabling direct comparison and analysis of performance under various conditions. This approach not only tests the engine's capabilities but also provides valuable insights into its potential integration with the Ghatak UCAV, India's indigenous unmanned combat aerial vehicle program.

Successful flight tests of the Dry Kaveri would be a significant milestone for India's indigenous aero-engine development program. The data gathered will be crucial for refining the engine and ensuring it meets the demanding requirements of modern combat UAVs.

Furthermore, it could pave the way for increased production, potential export opportunities, and solidify India's position in the global aerospace industry.

 

[Anant]

Not only stingy but too complacent, laid-back attitude. When they can't find the horse which has been with them for donkey years, they start going helter-skelter. The Chinese fellas were struggling with their own Chinese engine technology too. They very quickly bought some Su-35s and copied the Russian engines in a very short span of time to have their own engine to power their fighters. The Russians said in one interview they are aware of the Chinese copied Russian engines.

Indeed the Russians knew. Heck, after the Chinese copied the Su-27/30 into the J-11B, the Russian aerospace industry was very much against the proposed sale of Su-35s to China.

China had initially requested 16 Su-35s with 18 spare engines. After some pressure on and from the Kremlin, Russia agreed to sell 96 aircraft to China, if China agreed in writing to penalties on copying technology. Later on, some folks in the Kremlin were paid off, and China ended up buying 24 Su-35s and 32 spare engines. They quickly turned around and started reverse-engineering various aspects of the aircraft.

It is speculated today that while the PLAAF lists all 24 jets as active, none of them are actually active, and they are used as testbeds, reverse engineering template airframes, ground instructional airframes, etc.

 

[Anant]

We are lagging behind in this facility in testing out our own aero engines. Delays the progress to a great extent. Why not convert one of the IAF Ilyushin aircraft to a test bed facility? We have to design our own testing instruments.

Because the IAF does not like sparing aircraft from its own inventory. They have refused to spare even an older MiG-29 as a testbed, so an Il-76 is out of the question. I can understand where they are coming from, but it is frustrating.

 

[Bks98]

India is still relying on Russian in testing. HAL is a big let down. Indian govt should push pvt player to take lead.

 

[Sandeep]

India is still relying on Russian in testing. HAL is a big let down. Indian govt should push pvt player to take lead.

Nobody is stopping them from developing their own products

 

[Sandeep]

We have ground testing facilities but don’t have a flying testbed mainly because we never reached the stage where we developed a reliable, safe, durable and successful engine that passed high altitude simulated test facilities in Russia. You can’t just buy a test bed and install an engine without testing it properly on the ground first as the engine could blow up during a flight or some other issues may occur which is why you have simulated test facilities. It was only recently that the dry Kaveri engine passed the high altitude test facility in Russia which allows us to move to the next stage which is testing it in the air on a test bed.

Now if we were going to design and develop many jet engines and have many different engine programs regularly at an advanced stage then it’s worth spending hundreds of million on a test bed. Currently we only have 1 engine under development with no other engine program and we have just managed to pass its high altitude test. If we bought a test bed then until now its entire time would have been spent in an air hangar on the ground without flying at all.

Currently India is developing their own simulated high altitude test facility which was supposed to be built by the USA as part of their offset obligations but they never did and these long delays continued until finally we decided to develop it indigenously.

 

[VF VF1]

You have so many Airbus and Boeing airliners... fit it as an extra engine over there and test it... why so much dependency on Russia? Or test it parallelly... your testing + Russia testing whenever that happens... make a reliable engine fast... that's it.

The government is very active in fighting elections, but in R&D they are so slow to develop things by themselves.

 

[Sandeep]

This is a never ending saga of the Indian jet engine, not only does it paint us as a country lacking technology, engineering and manufacturing ability but also undermines our defense, 30-40 years is too long.

The real problem was that India didn’t try reverse engineering anything that was bought from Russia, France, Israel or the USA. It tried to develop a variant entirely indigenously which takes a longer time and more money and there’s no guarantee that you will succeed either. The USA spends billions and not everything that they develop and test reaches the production stage.

China which only has 1 party in power permanently and doesn’t have to worry about an election or give answers to the people can afford to spend billions more on their military. A lot of technology is also stolen which gave it an advantage.

Another issue was that we didn’t allow more private sector participation in designing and developing military weapons and technology. This led to more people seeking these type of jobs abroad and those who studied in government universities for free were more than happy to fly abroad. They were then useless and of no benefit to the country which shouldn’t be allowed as there needs to be tighter controls over students studying for free and not taking up jobs in India.

 

[Sreedhar Radhakrishna]

They made big announcement last week that that Kaveri is cleared for flight testing on actual UAV and Tejas. Now this news speaks about another round of high altitude testing in Russia on a test bed. God save our country.

 

[J04]

Instead of sending it to Russia, Bharat should invest in a flying test bed facility. It is time-consuming to transport, and charges are more than having your own test facility. It will speed up development. Second, if it is designed to produce 48 kN thrust without an afterburner and is stable in producing the same thrust or exceeding up to 51/52 kN, then it will be a very good achievement. Next would be afterburner development, which would take time, maybe 8 to 10 years to be ready with refinement. If it achieves 53 kN then, after refining, it may achieve 85 to 90 kN afterburner thrust.

Hi I am new to this, don't know much about defence but I read something about this on reddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/IndianDefense/comments/1hoa7ar/gtre_130kn_twin_engine_test_bed_facility_at

Is this what you are referring to ?