HAL Aims to Produce 30 F-414 Engines Annually to Fulfill 120 Tejas Mk2 and 40 AMCA Mk1 Jets Order ASAP

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is poised to significantly bolster India's defen e capabilities with the imminent local production of F-414 engines. A deal with GE Aerospace, expected to be finalized by year-end, will see HAL's Bangalore facility become a hub for manufacturing these powerful engines, crucial for the Indian Air Force's (IAF) Tejas Mk2 and AMCA Mk1 fighter jets.

This initiative marks a major stride towards "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-Reliant India), with approximately 80% of the F-414 engine components to be manufactured domestically. HAL is developing specialized capabilities to achieve this ambitious goal, reducing reliance on foreign imports for critical defen e technology.

HAL aims to produce the first "Made in India" F-414 engine within three years of the deal's conclusion. The initial contract with GE Aerospace encompasses 99 engines, primarily for the Tejas Mk2 program. However, with the IAF planning to acquire 120 Tejas Mk2 and 40 AMCA Mk1 jets, demand is projected to surge. HAL anticipates producing at least 200 engines by 2035, potentially doubling orders by 2028 to meet the growing needs of the IAF.

To sustain this ambitious production target, HAL is establishing an annual production capacity of roughly 30 F-414 engines. This capacity will not only cater to the initial demand but also ensure a steady supply of spare engines and parts over the coming decades. HAL estimates that an additional 360 engines will be required over the next 40 years to maintain the operational readiness of the Tejas Mk2 and AMCA fleets.

This long-term vision extends beyond immediate military needs. The F-414 engine production in India will drive technology transfer and skill development within the domestic aerospace sector, contributing to the country's technological advancement and economic growth.

 

[R. Singh]

Govt of India better ink deal to make GE-404 engines also along with GE-414 ! Even better make enhanced version of GE-414 (114 KN ) thrust !

 

[Andy13]

Yes. We know how good planners they are. If only they could make quickly...

 

[Fr@nk]

We will need total 1500 Ge414 engines for Tejas mk2, Amca, tedbf for full lifetime..

We must do 2 things

1) Demand 100% TOT for such huge deal

2) Both HAL and a private company should manufacture this engine.. With 2 different production line we can produce 100 engines per year.

Hal can't produce 100 engines per year by its own. We need 2 production line. One Hal second one by adani/ambani/mahindra/tat/Godrej/LT/Bf

 

[sanket]

HAL going for 30 production rate of GE-414 Engine thats sound Good, that will not impact rolling out Tejas MK2, unlike Tejas MK1A where GE is likely to have production rate of Just 16 per year, I have highlighting this for 100 times that GE should Ramp-up production rate of G-404 to 30 per yera but GE failed to do so, i would like to add TEDBF which is Twin Engine Fighter which will also required GE-414 Engine, Last para coming decades steady supply of spare engine & spare parts & HAL estimates for Next 40 years additional engines would required for this Jets this what I was saying for 100 Times when GE supplied 75 GE-404 Engine they were knowing a fighter jets requires 3.5 Engine in its Entire Life time plus spare parts & components But even then GE which is Leader & Established player for years & professionally managed failed to keep production even after signing the contract for GE-404 Engines thats kind of vision needed from world class Aero-Engine company GE should learn from HAL.

 

[Abs29]

Alas even if HAL sets up facility to manufacture 100 engines per year, it means zilch. As we have all seen in the past HAL persistently under utilizes its production capacity. It notorious for over investing in expansive installed capacity which always is underused usually by as much as 40-60% and sometimes even as much as 80%.

 

[Rinku Pandey]

Great step by HAL. Hopefully this deal will be signed once Donald ji comes to power in Jan 2025.

 

[Sandeep]

India secured a very good deal with the amount of technology they give and also to manufacture those engines indigenously. HAL should take full advantage of this knowledge so that they can learn how to develop a full 100% indigenous engine in the future.

There is actually a huge demand for these engines and over 40 years on average we will need to manufacture and swap out at least 3 engines or more depending on the usage. If we make 120 Tejas MK2 jets we will need at least 360 engines for that alone but we might end up making more jets. For 40 AMCA MK1 jets we will need 240 unless we swap it for the future 5th generation engines that we will develop with Safran. For about 100 TEDBF we will make about 600 engines. In total we will need to manufacture at least 1200 engines over 40 years so there is a huge demand and a requirement for regular maintenance, repairs and overhaul which the private sector can contribute a lot to it.

While it’s crucial to maintain a high rate of annual production of the engines HAL also needs to make sure that they manufacture the Tejas Mk1A, Tejas MK2 and AMCA jets to the maximum amount that’s possible. Currently they aren’t doing that which just harms our national security and reputation of HAL. This puts foreign governments off from buying our jets from HAL despite the jet being a very good, lethal, modern and affordable jet.

 

[Bikramjeet Goswami]

They haven't yet signed the deal with GE.

 

[Shiva]

Good to have two parallel LRUs one from USA side and one from Russia side so that no one blackmails us with supply tactics.

One side, efforts by HAL on F-xxx engines for Tejas and AMCA , second side, on AL-31FP plus Super Sukoi efforts and third AL-53FP based next products could be a better option.

But there is one more needed. India not yet focussed.
Need to request Russia for nuclear fuel based engines.

This technology will be the next challenging for next decades.
Next meetings with Russia, if this is included then work in this direction will start in next few years.

 

[Swapy]

HAL committed to delivering engines according to IAF demand. IAF never wanted to deliver 30 Tejas MK1A in a year as they are budget constrained and happy with 16-24 Tejas delivery in a year. For 30-40 engines per annum, an extra production facility is needed and to establish this needs money which HAL can't afford without a high number of orders. Now confirmed order for Tejas MK1A is 83 aircraft. A 97 additional order deal is not signed yet. Currently, the engine shortage issue is due to GE being unable to supply engines due to supply chain disturbance. If GE can't deliver GE404 engines then how will HAL deliver Tejas?

 

[Swetank Bharti]

We will need total 1500 Ge414 engines for Tejas mk2, Amca, tedbf for full lifetime..

We must do 2 things

1) Demand 100% TOT for such huge deal

2) Both HAL and a private company should manufacture this engine.. With 2 different production line we can produce 100 engines per year.

Hal can't produce 100 engines per year by its own. We need 2 production line. One Hal second one by adani/ambani/mahindra/tat/Godrej/LT/Bf

1st thing will be no problem because we can even make those 20% components homegrown from the Kaveri Engine's development.

In 2nd thing you are completely right these aircrafts should be manufactured jointly by HAL and Private sector companies unless we make 4-5 more production line at once.

 

[GhoshDiganta]

This is the only thing HAL is good at planning. They need to execute more than just planning.

 

[Muthu.Kumar]

How can this be part of "SELF" reliant ?

Isn't this part of "GE" reliant ? Without relying on GE, HAL couldn't even turn a single stone in Tejas project.

Then how can it be "SELF" reliant ? It's a shame to boast "GE reliant" as "SELF reliant" after putting Kaveri engine to sleep instead of taking any single measure to revive it.

 

[Vilas Raje]

Extremely tall claim...given it's history and GE's reliability it looks like a pipe dream.

 

[linus52]

Throwing good money with HAL Loser can't deliver Kaveri keep wishing to scheme our money instead not allowing private enterprise to bring technology

 

[VedantaKiran]

Again HAL should not make the same mistake it committed for Tejas MK1A.

Start testing and manufacturing Russian Engines for Tejas Mk2. GE has been an unreliable partner. So start manufacturing the Russian engines for Mk2 and testing them on the Mk2 airframes.

This should be done for the helicopters as well. Always have a second vendor and manufacturing options.