Japan's XF9-1 Engine Offers A Scalable Power Solution for India's AMCA Fighter, Allowing Future-Ready Upgrades for 6th-Gen Variants

Japan has officially offered its state-of-the-art IHI XF9-1 engine to India for co-development and domestic manufacturing, positioning it as a powerful contender to be the heart of the nation's Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The proposal makes Japan the fourth country to enter the high-stakes competition to supply the engine for India's futuristic 5.5-generation stealth fighter, joining established aerospace leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.

The engine at the center of the offer, the IHI XF9-1, is a low-bypass turbofan designed for high performance. Developed by Japan's IHI Corporation, the prototype engine produces a dry thrust of approximately 11 tons (107kN) and can achieve over 15 tons (147kN) with its afterburner engaged.

Critically, the engine is engineered for future growth, with a potential maximum thrust of nearly 20 tons (196kN), making it suitable not only for current but also for next-generation combat aircraft.

India's Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), the agency leading the engine project, has outlined a need for a powerplant that can generate up to 120kN of thrust.

A key requirement is the ability to achieve "supercruise"—sustained supersonic flight without the heavy fuel consumption of an afterburner—which requires a dry thrust of around 73-75 kN.

While the XF9-1's current dry thrust is higher than this, its modern design allows it to be modified or "detuned" to precisely meet the AMCA's immediate needs.

This scalability is a major advantage, as the same core engine could later be upgraded to power future sixth-generation variants that will demand significantly more power.

Competition for the AMCA engine contract is intense, with the Japanese offer now being weighed against proposals from other global giants.

These include the Safran M88 engine from France, the Eurojet EJ200 from a British-led consortium, and the F414 engine from General Electric in the United States.

Each offer is being evaluated on its technical merits, level of technology transfer, and alignment with India's strategic goals.

The Japanese proposal strongly supports India's "Make in India" initiative and the goal of achieving self-reliance in critical defence technologies. The offer includes provisions for the XF9-1 to be manufactured locally, which would provide a significant boost to India's aerospace and defence industrial base.

A partnership on such a crucial project would also mark a major milestone in the growing strategic and defence relationship between India and Japan.

As the AMCA program moves forward, the Indian Air Force and GTRE will conduct a thorough assessment of all proposals. The final decision will depend on a combination of factors, including engine performance, the extent of technology sharing, long-term costs, and strategic benefits.

Japan's entry highlights the global importance of the AMCA project and strengthens India's position as a rising power in the world of advanced aerospace engineering.

 

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[Dredd]

Detuning an engine will not alter its size much. This engine is in the class of the F135 which powers the F-35. Using this engine will have an impact on the AMCA design unless we are going with a different engine altogether which is based on this engine design. Ideally, however, AMCA should be powered with an engine in the 150 KN class and similar in size to that of the F-22.

 

[coke]

Proposal with RR was for clean sheet design of 6th gen with adaptive cycle tech. I don't think this Japanese engine is 6th gen and comes with variable cycle tech. We better go with RR.

 

[Mr.Aeronautical]

Here is my take on how the competitors stand in this race:

1. Japan
2. France
3. Russia
4. UK
5. USA

Considering technology, supply chain, timeline, our relation with these countries, strategy for war, and veto power in UN.

Starting from the bottom:

• USA - Despite having a robust supply chain and the most advanced engines in the world (in terms of flight hours), the USA is ranked lowest. This is simply because they are a superpower not interested in empowering anyone else who won't fight when they say fight. Money isn't going to cut it with them; they want power over the country as well. We are already collaborating with them on F404 and F414 engines for TEJAS, which is good enough; we don't need to jump in head first for everything. We are seeing their delays and their tactics to sell us their F-16 (trying to rope us in on their other businesses).
• UK - Rolls Royce engines, with their advanced engine and willingness for Transfer of Technology (TOT), make a formidable choice. Based on their political situation and supply chain issues, I have considered them in 4th rank. The UK is not stable politically; the Pakistani population and Khalistani extremists are given a free ticket. Already stretched resources with militarising other NATO countries do impact timelines adversely.
• Russia - Our time-tested ally is already involved in upgrading our Sukhoi aircraft to Super30 variants, which is good enough collaboration for now. They are too stretched with their war, and it will take them some time to replenish their own defences. We are utilising what we should from Russia: their material resources, nuclear tech, and engine tech for our Sukhoi, which is already the backbone of our air force. There is no need to put the supply chains under even more stress. Not to mention, they say "Make in India" but give us kits for assembling the engine for our Sukhoi upgrade.
• France - Safran is one of the best choices as they are our time-tested ally too, offering advanced engines. However, we are already collaborating with them on our Kaveri engine, which is now for our UCAVs. The history with Safran CFM engines in our civilian airlines is not as great as we think, because Safran is not bothered to give answers to our questions of why, despite all the checks, engines have caused trouble. The demand for civilian aircraft is ever increasing, and timeline issues will creep in. We need robust maintenance and supply chain. We all know how France is trying to buy off Ambani's shares from Dassault in India. Their unwillingness to share source code with the IAF for better integrating the Flight Computer is proof that they will say "Make in India" and "TOT" and all, but they will keep the critical tech for themselves, buying Indian company shares to make profits instead.
• Japan - Japan is also a U.S. proxy whose constitution is under the thumb of the U.S. Its previous unwillingness to supply us weapons gives them a bad track record in my opinion. But, considering their technological prowess, high thrust, and adaptable engine capable of fine-tuning, it trumps all other engines. In recent times, they shared with us one of their best antennas with our navy, which was previously denied to us. This shows the change in their viewpoint towards India. Multiple things have caused this shift: For the first time, they see us as a competition to China. 'Op Sindoor' has instilled a sense of confidence in Japan that our indigenous systems and tactics are more than capable to fight Pakistan and China, even in high-risk situations such as not destroying enemy air defence systems before engaging them. This is because they want to avoid the same situation in which China is now, exporting their PL15E missiles and enemy nations studying those systems in detail. Instead of always being involved with Pakistan, we have taken over Japan in IMF ranking to become the 4th largest economy in the world. Bypassing the Japanese government's bureaucratic nature in the world, their willingness to share tech with us is a big step indeed. In conclusion, their advanced tech and not-so-stressed supply chain of engines – they are not exporting or making it for themselves either – it's like a match made in heaven. In conclusion, the change in relations with India, their willingness for TOT of such an adaptable engine, and timeline estimates which are often accurate, led me to rank them 1st. Now, the only tension point is their close association with the USA, whose influence remains to be seen on this project. And last but not least, there is a chance that we will go to take PoK and China-occupied Kashmir right when China moves in to take Taiwan.

Looking at this strategically, no team goes for aerial battle with one type of aircraft. There are always multiple types of aircraft and ammunition involved. Mothership (Tejas, Jaguar, AMCA, Sukhoi) with CATS is the scenario we desire. For mothership, multirole long-range or short-range aircraft are what we are looking for, which will act as a hammer or a shield respectively. By not putting all our eggs in one basket, we are diversifying our power for varied missions, and at the same time, we have contingency plans in case of bottlenecks with one country. Though we don't need these many different systems and collaborations for defence, from the perspective of UN veto power, the more collaborations we have with other countries' defence forces, the more likely they are to support us for our veto power and in case of conflict, because right now, the situation is not that good.

 

[RJ Bose]

Japan is far more reliable then Americans who many have racist feelings towards Indians.

Also, not to forget that a rising China is a direct threat to both India and Japan. The USA or the EU don't share borders with China, we guys do. Looking at the recent developments, I won't even be surprised if tomorrow USA and China sign a non-aggression pact with each other and USA abandons all its allies in the Indo-Pacific.

 

[Kira]

The US has the final say on what Japan does with any military tech, so America would still be involved and will have the last decision to make about it.

 

[Robert Mathew]

Japan is a reliable customer. India must seriously consider the offer. Of course, there is a hitch. As a partner of the USA, Japan may adhere to the USA's diktats of sanctions, which India must overcome. Joint production is a worthy idea, as sanctions will not hinder the progress. An idea, fruitful.

 

[Kailash]

May be for a AHCA or for a bulky single engine LCA version like the F-21 or F-35. We could re-engine super Sukhois with this. Not for AMCA.

Japan wants to capitalize on the investment done on their engine, which they will probably never productionize, India can buy the IP, process ToT, and may be pay a royal for initial 200 engines made in India. Royalty can't be forever, and we need to know-why as well.

Make it easy for them - give them these demands, the Japanese will come back saying "No". We can proceed undistracted with Kaveri.

 

[Mr.Aeronautical]

Well, this may be a part of recent news that India's P-15E missile technology was shared with Japan. But again, India gets promises in return for technology. This is a better engine for technology, but what is the thrust-to-weight ratio? Certainly, with such a class of engine, one can build much heavier aircraft than currently planned.

T/w is fine if T is this high as they claim..it is sufficient to lift in short distances and for high g maneuver of the a/c.. weight will be a problem if engine doesn't produce much thrust,otherwise it's not a problem as amca 1,2 is assumed to be designed with a more powerful engine. But if we tune it for producing less thrust to be within the operational limits,it may cause this weight problem. after plugging it into our prototype only we will know the exact results ...and try to correct the airframe wherever required, this type of modeling is called fixed engine designing.

 

[prasant kumar shaarma]

Japanese engines may be costlier, but they are more reliable than GE/USA. Plus, a Japanese engine seems to solve the future requirements of a 6th generation engine. We should seriously go through their offers.

Further, China is our common enemy. This collaboration may open the gate for further cooperation. Let's heed the offer.

 

[Sandeep]

While the engine looks impressive there is still a lot to consider. We need to consider the cost, type and amount of technology transfer, type and amount of local production, manufacturing machinery required, rare earth metals and raw materials required etc.

One crucial reason why we won’t select this engine is mainly because it will just be another manufactured engine under a license which India can select any other engine if it wanted that. India wants to properly learn how to design, develop and manufacture an indigenous engine which can be the main platform on developing future advanced engines. We want to learn more about the education, knowledge, science, engineering, IT skills, skills, expertise etc that’s required when developing an advanced engine.

 

[sukhoi30mki]

GTRE should go with the RR offer. Then, why is Japan developing the Tempest fighter jet with the UK and Italy? If they can develop an engine, what is the point of joining the Tempest project? Earlier, Japan denied Soryu-class subs as well as amphibious aircraft too. In the best-case scenario, GTRE can use the Japanese offer as a pressure tactic to get the best out of the rest. Japan is fifth after Russia and not fourth country to offer.

It's the cost. The Japanese are seriously hampered by their limited mineral resources and rare earth materials, plus the labour costs are significantly higher in Japan. With diminishing demographics, they simply don't have all the means. They have the tech, sure, but it takes more than tech to make a final product.

 

[Ansuman Chauhan]

In my opinion, we should seriously consider this offer, as both our interests and Japan's align in this regard – we need each other. First, the technical team should validate the engine to ensure it meets our requirements, and Japan agrees to share the technology. If both conditions are met, we should move forward with this offer. The EU and USA don’t face the same China-related challenges that India and Japan do, making collaboration essential at this time.

 

[Senapati]

India and Japan both are asian countries and have good relation.
Theycan be partner to new engine XF 9 and can jointly develop a future 6th generation fighter aircraft that will be economical and faster.
This will enhance regional security and power balance.

 

[Subho S]

India doesn't need anybody's engines. We will fund our own engine development and sell to the Japanese in 10 years' time, and oh by the way, at one-third the cost of the Japanese engines!

 

[Subho S]

Yeah, right, the Japs will never give us any tech without the U.S.'s permission, so not to be trusted at any cost, especially on something as strategic as jet engines. The Japs refused to sell us even made-in-Japan Soryu class subs; they even refused to sell us ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious aircraft, and they will now just wake up and smell the coffee and give us tech for 6th Gen engines - ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha 🙂 !!! Dream on. These are just tactics to derail India's indigenous engine development efforts because once India has developed 5-Gen engines, the world's OEM engine manufacturers will lose significant global market share going forward!

No one and I mean NO ONE other than the Russians have ever given us anything of significance. The Russians have extracted the right price for it but they have given it to us.At this point, the Indian defence industrial complex has enough critical mass to fund and develop our own 5th gen adaptive cycle engines. It may take us 12-15 years to perfect it but it will be better and cheaper than chasing foreign partners over this!

 

[Gajanan Hirde]

Indian babus will go for GE. They like to gag American pricks

 

[Dagger]

We should go for it. Say whatever you want, but developing a 5th generation engine within 10-12 years with 0 prior experience in such technology is completely impossible. The tie up with a foreign partner hasnt even been made yet. There is no chance of the AMCA arriving within 2030s at this pace. I say we take japanese help for these 10-15 years, and set up our own R&D centres too alongside to keep developing an indigenous version too.

 

[Raja Raja Cholan]

Weigh the options available and conduct a thorough study on the Japanese offer. Based on initial offers from GE, Safran, and RR, I preferred RR. Now that there is a new player, Japan has offered to collaborate in producing a 120kN engine for the 5th gen AMCA. I would very much prefer Japanese engineering more than RR. The very reason is that Japanese engineering prowess, especially in engine technology, is superior class. Coming a long way in mastering engines for automobiles and aircraft, they have managed to produce powerful, fuel-saving, and superior-quality engines. I think HAL and GTRE should study the proposals and grab this great opportunity offered to India. In my opinion, the Japanese are principled and honest people. But as usual, don't sit on it for ages to make a decision. Time and tide wait for no man.

 

[Ammoman]

Japan has a history of making precision products. They have the expertise and a pool of world class engineers.

Why people believe they can't be trusted is suspect. They are hard negotiators but stick to agreements. There are lots of trolls here trying to create doubt. They never give examples. Its a tell tale sign.

 

[Ammoman]

Japan is more trustworthy for India, but the fear is Japan's defence industries and foreign policies are mostly controlled by the USA. Japan is not like before World War 2.

Japanese people are proud. They are moving away from the US. That's why they are building their own jets and engines. They know the US will never step in and help them with China.

 

[thyhandsonus]

For the idiots crying about Japanese Submarine technology not being given to India at 100% ToT. Are you nuts or just slow? Everyone keep the best technology for themselves. Say, would we give Brahmos technology to anyone else? Especially if it was from the sweat and blood of our scientists? Hell no! Hence, neither would Japan.

 

[Madan]

Here is my take on how the competitors stand in this race:

1. Japan
2. France
3. Russia
4. UK
5. USA

Considering technology, supply chain, timeline, our relation with these countries, strategy for war, and veto power in UN.

Starting from the bottom:

• USA - Despite having a robust supply chain and the most advanced engines in the world (in terms of flight hours), the USA is ranked lowest. This is simply because they are a superpower not interested in empowering anyone else who won't fight when they say fight. Money isn't going to cut it with them; they want power over the country as well. We are already collaborating with them on F404 and F414 engines for TEJAS, which is good enough; we don't need to jump in head first for everything. We are seeing their delays and their tactics to sell us their F-16 (trying to rope us in on their other businesses).
• UK - Rolls Royce engines, with their advanced engine and willingness for Transfer of Technology (TOT), make a formidable choice. Based on their political situation and supply chain issues, I have considered them in 4th rank. The UK is not stable politically; the Pakistani population and Khalistani extremists are given a free ticket. Already stretched resources with militarising other NATO countries do impact timelines adversely.
• Russia - Our time-tested ally is already involved in upgrading our Sukhoi aircraft to Super30 variants, which is good enough collaboration for now. They are too stretched with their war, and it will take them some time to replenish their own defences. We are utilising what we should from Russia: their material resources, nuclear tech, and engine tech for our Sukhoi, which is already the backbone of our air force. There is no need to put the supply chains under even more stress. Not to mention, they say "Make in India" but give us kits for assembling the engine for our Sukhoi upgrade.
• France - Safran is one of the best choices as they are our time-tested ally too, offering advanced engines. However, we are already collaborating with them on our Kaveri engine, which is now for our UCAVs. The history with Safran CFM engines in our civilian airlines is not as great as we think, because Safran is not bothered to give answers to our questions of why, despite all the checks, engines have caused trouble. The demand for civilian aircraft is ever increasing, and timeline issues will creep in. We need robust maintenance and supply chain. We all know how France is trying to buy off Ambani's shares from Dassault in India. Their unwillingness to share source code with the IAF for better integrating the Flight Computer is proof that they will say "Make in India" and "TOT" and all, but they will keep the critical tech for themselves, buying Indian company shares to make profits instead.
• Japan - Japan is also a U.S. proxy whose constitution is under the thumb of the U.S. Its previous unwillingness to supply us weapons gives them a bad track record in my opinion. But, considering their technological prowess, high thrust, and adaptable engine capable of fine-tuning, it trumps all other engines. In recent times, they shared with us one of their best antennas with our navy, which was previously denied to us. This shows the change in their viewpoint towards India. Multiple things have caused this shift: For the first time, they see us as a competition to China. 'Op Sindoor' has instilled a sense of confidence in Japan that our indigenous systems and tactics are more than capable to fight Pakistan and China, even in high-risk situations such as not destroying enemy air defence systems before engaging them. This is because they want to avoid the same situation in which China is now, exporting their PL15E missiles and enemy nations studying those systems in detail. Instead of always being involved with Pakistan, we have taken over Japan in IMF ranking to become the 4th largest economy in the world. Bypassing the Japanese government's bureaucratic nature in the world, their willingness to share tech with us is a big step indeed. In conclusion, their advanced tech and not-so-stressed supply chain of engines – they are not exporting or making it for themselves either – it's like a match made in heaven. In conclusion, the change in relations with India, their willingness for TOT of such an adaptable engine, and timeline estimates which are often accurate, led me to rank them 1st. Now, the only tension point is their close association with the USA, whose influence remains to be seen on this project. And last but not least, there is a chance that we will go to take PoK and China-occupied Kashmir right when China moves in to take Taiwan.

Looking at this strategically, no team goes for aerial battle with one type of aircraft. There are always multiple types of aircraft and ammunition involved. Mothership (Tejas, Jaguar, AMCA, Sukhoi) with CATS is the scenario we desire. For mothership, multirole long-range or short-range aircraft are what we are looking for, which will act as a hammer or a shield respectively. By not putting all our eggs in one basket, we are diversifying our power for varied missions, and at the same time, we have contingency plans in case of bottlenecks with one country. Though we don't need these many different systems and collaborations for defence, from the perspective of UN veto power, the more collaborations we have with other countries' defence forces, the more likely they are to support us for our veto power and in case of conflict, because right now, the situation is not that good.

What you said makes a very good sense. UK and France both can be pressurised by US, which is already creating problems for F 404. Japan too has the same problem but could be relied upon up to an extent. Russia is good in this matter but for the quality of the product. Best option is to go with Japan and get something good and learn something good from it. Act quickly instead of wasting time. China is on our tail.

 

[Madan]

India will never do this because it makes too much sence.

Hope it does this time. Our decision makers need kicks and pushes. Otherwise they don't work because of lethargy and fear to take a decision and stand with that. They need a big kick in their bums to put them to work.

 

[Nagendra simh]

Why on Earth would someone decrease dry thrust? It does not make sense, provided you use the same amount of fuel, if it's just a T/W ratio change.

To improve lifespan of the engine.

 

[Ashram]

Should go for it as the Japanese are more reliable than the others in current scenario of things.Maybe can run it parallel with GTRE and Safran.We will always require engines for jets or UAvs on the next few decades .Indias excellence in engines can improve with the Japanese culture of working .Amca or another 6th gen version soon will accelerate with multiple engine scenarios.Dream big to achieve something