DRDO Revs Up Development of 91 kN Engine for LCA Tejas and Ghatak UCAV

Hold onto your hats, aviation aficionados, because India's Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is reportedly pushing the boundaries of jet engine technology with a potential 91 kilonewton (kN) powerhouse designed to propel the LCA Tejas fighter jet and Ghatak UCAV to new heights.

This ambitious project, an evolution of the existing Kaveri engine program, is set to transform India's indigenous fighter jet capabilities. A 91kN engine would catapult the Tejas and Ghatak into the league of top-tier fighter aircraft, delivering unparalleled speed, agility, and payload capacity.

While details are still under wraps, this development marks a significant leap forward in India's quest for self-reliance in military technology. The 91kN engine would rival some of the most powerful jet engines in the world, showcasing the DRDO's commitment to cutting-edge innovation.

This exciting news follows on the heels of other advancements in the Kaveri engine program, including the development of a 73kN variant with an afterburner for testing on older Tejas models and potentially powering the Ghatak UCAV.

With the potential 91kN engine, India is poised to revolutionize its aerospace industry and bolster its defense capabilities. While we eagerly await official confirmation and further details, this development signifies a major milestone for India's indigenous fighter jet program and reinforces the country's position as a rising power in aerospace technology.

 

[Akshat]

So how is it possible that the engine has been fully tested and passed in Russia then? Are they lying?

Of course they are. It’s DRDO. All they do is lie.

But in reality, DRDO hasn’t said even once that the engine has passed anything. Only news without any sources has been spread as rumors.

 

[Akshat]

This 50kn Kaveri engine has passed all tests and is certified which will now be used for the stealth UCAV Ghatak drone. As they keep working and developing the engine it will improve in time.

It has not passed anything. Just a block of metal that can't be used for anything.

 

[Ajath Shri]

India only developing ucav prototypes and it will go upto 2050. After that the ghatak ucav program will be scrapped. And we will buy uavs from iran.

Where did you get this information from ?

 

[SR]

So what stopping them to make mk1a , tedbf / orca with those engines,
Rafale is just 75kn engine
I think DRDO is lying to buy some time & secure jobs

 

[Sentoki]

The Kaveri program seems to have reached high technological maturity stage from all the news coming now.

For those that are familiar with stage gate process followed in Aerospace product development, the program seems to have reached gate 4 (testing & validation). GTRE now needs to focus on design optimization, testing and validation before launch.

At this stage, the key objectives has to weight reduction, increased reliability (enhanced TBO time) and design optimization for enhanced thrust output.

These efforts should now be put back in mission mode by GOI/MOD and drive this program to stage 5 quickly.

At current rates of Tejas MK1A build outs, the Kaveri engine program has enough time to start powering atleast last 2 squadrons of the new batch of 97 Mk1As that are to be ordered if the program is put back in mission mode and resources are prioritized.

The MOD/GOI should do that rather than wait for midlife engine refits which is another decade out.

 

[rtnguy]

Thrust is only 1 aspect. MTBO is the main parameter. Chinese have engines to generate thrust in excess of 180KN but their MTBOs is only 200 hours. We need an engine with Min MTBO of 3000+ hours for it to be viable replacement to GE F404 which frankly seems impossible since DRDO has barely scratched surface of afterburner technology after 4 decades+. Sad!

 

[AK S]

Of course they are. It’s DRDO. All they do is lie.

But in reality, DRDO hasn’t said even once that the engine has passed anything. Only news without any sources has been spread as rumors.

You want us to trust a French agent and not what my minister said on the floor of the house. Forget the the Russian, even your patron, Safran okayed it for limited-envelope flight test.

 

[AK S]

How is DRDO a hero in the missile department??? Nirbhay is a big zero. All variants of Nag, except Helina, are a big zero. No cruise missile till date. Astra 2 and 3 are nowhere to be seen after over a decade of development. No Manpad. No Rudram. No ALBM. DRDO is a big zero and a colossal failure in every single department. No exceptions at all.

He’d recommend Javelin, ATHOS and all sorts of foreign maal.

Chances of imports of your recommended products are very remote. Even Rafale is slowly fading away as we get closer to the first flight of MK2 and AMCA.

 

[AK S]

Another DRDO plan to keep the jobs secure for 3 more decades.

So you have any doubts about their job security.

It’s so much better to enable them so they do a better job.

 

[kumar]

Plans are good. But first, serious investment needs to be done in FTB and high altitude test facility. Critical for doing iterative development and ironing out problems in the development phase.

 

[Akshat]

So you have any doubts about their job security.

It’s so much better to enable them so they do a better job.

Competition brings out the best, not job security. No socialist nation has ever sustained itself for long.

 

[Akshat]

He’d recommend Javelin, ATHOS and all sorts of foreign maal.

Chances of imports of your recommended products are very remote. Even Rafale is slowly fading away as we get closer to the first flight of MK2 and AMCA.

Well MoD is still going ahead with MRFA. So chances of whichever plane wins are still very very strong.

And again, I never recommended any of those products. I recommend whatever can clear the trials and can be produced. Great if it’s Indian, else import if need be.

 

[Akshat]

You want us to trust a French agent and not what my minister said on the floor of the house. Forget the the Russian, even your patron, Safran okayed it for limited-envelope flight test.

Well which minister has ever said in the floor that Kaveri is available to be used for anything today?

As for Safran, please don’t twist their words. They said it can be used ‘with M88’s core’.

 

[Anant]

France is our dependable strategic partner, we should ink deal with them allowing Saffran to develop a 90+ KN Kavari engine for LCA & AF-MK-II as well as super Shakti engine for our medium class Helicopter/ASW and NMRH helicopters !

They aren't running a charity, you know. They'll happily develop an engine if you pay them, but you won't get any IPR. A joint development project is what is needed.

 

[Anant]

Use GE414 for tejas mk1A and more than 120kN engine with the help of UK or France Safran shall be used for tejas mk2 and Amca mk1 and Amca 2
Kaveri twin engine can be planned for tejas mk1A or mk2

You do realise that you can't just add a second engine to an existing design without essentially redesigning the whole aircraft, right?

 

[Anant]

India needs to continue developing and improving the Kaveri engine. We have certified the engine to produce about 50kn of thrust and it will definitely be used on the stealth UCAV Ghatak drone that's under development. We need to increase the thrust level and develop a afterburner before we can use it on the Tejas jets but we can't keep relying on foreign expensive imports even if we do get some partial technology transferred to us.

We are also developing the Kaveri Marine engine which has been showing good progress and it can power our small to medium ships. We need to invest more on developing critical engines for tanks, jets, ships etc. This is a area where we are weak at but it's a critical area where we need to become indigenous in.

A Kaveri engine with an afterburner is just about usable on the Tejas if DRDO can, as they claim, increase the core's thrust output. The present Kaveri, even with an afterburner, is unusable on the Tejas.

Oh, and the KMGT is a bright spot, but there has been practically no news on it over the last year or so. It was even reported today that we may be moving ahead with indigenously-developed diesel engines by Kirloskar Group for small future ships.

 

[Anant]

So what stopping them to make mk1a , tedbf / orca with those engines,
Rafale is just 75kn engine
I think DRDO is lying to buy some time & secure jobs

The Rafale also has two engines. You do realise that, right? That would be impossible for the Tejas Mk 1A, and insufficient for the TEDBF.

 

[Pink Panther]

Need of an hour , Now Tejas MK1A Total order is crossing 220 plus Expected few Export order so Entire Life span of an Fighter jet requires 3.5 Engine . its a Big requirement DRDO going good.

I think GE deal is off or GOI doesn’t want to use GE engine for Tejas MK1A any more, so Tejas MK2 is a ?, they will use the 99 GE-404 engines they already procured and make MK1A’s and for the remaining copies they will use Kaveri, something good is happening.

 

[Rajesh]

France is our dependable strategic partner, we should ink deal with them allowing Saffran to develop a 90+ KN Kavari engine for LCA & AF-MK-II as well as super Shakti engine for our medium class Helicopter/ASW and NMRH helicopters !

When did they become dependable. All they did was milk us to the last drop though fault lies with ourselves too. We have more options now and we should carefully move with the right partner after careful evaluation rather than being milked for nothing which ever company be it.

 

[sumeet biswas]

Aaaaah the dream of kaaveri engine 🤦
How our scientists will be able to make an engine without having any test facility?
We have got no high altitude testbed 😑
And F404 IN20 already produces 90 kN thrust

 

[Boomeranger]

Aaaaah the dream of kaaveri engine 🤦
How our scientists will be able to make an engine without having any test facility?
We have got no high altitude testbed 😑
And F404 IN20 already produces 90 kN thrust

NO - F404 around 80KN only for India hot humid conditions, F414 on paper 98KN max. thrust. Kaveri went to 85 KN for 45 minutes and blew up all of internal turbine blades and punctured many fuel lines and chamber parts also...

 

[Boomeranger]

it not military certified and CANNOT be used for manned fighter jets. Only for 15 tons UCAV Ghatak stealth bomber is okay..

 

[Akilesh]

He’d recommend Javelin, ATHOS and all sorts of foreign maal.

Chances of imports of your recommended products are very remote. Even Rafale is slowly fading away as we get closer to the first flight of MK2 and AMCA.

Even Rafale-M hasn’t been ordered yet, there is no guarantee as to whether GOI will order them or not, so only 36 Rafale’s are procured.

 

[Sandeep]

Of course they are. It’s DRDO. All they do is lie.

But in reality, DRDO hasn’t said even once that the engine has passed anything. Only news without any sources has been spread as rumors.

What does Russia gain from lying? Wouldn’t it make sense that Russia would lie or fail to certify the engine so that then leaves the possibility of India having to buy more Russian jets right? Russia loses from passing to certify it and everything to gain if they fail it the engine.

 

[Akshat]

What does Russia gain from lying? Wouldn’t it make sense that Russia would lie or fail to certify the engine so that then leaves the possibility of India having to buy more Russian jets right? Russia loses from passing to certify it and everything to gain if they fail it the engine.

When did Russia even say that? I repeat, no one has ever said that Kaveri works. No one at all.