Kaveri Engine Set for Major Leap with New Funding, BrahMos Afterburner and Testing on Tejas Fighter Jet

India's long-standing ambition to develop its own fighter jet engine is set for a significant advancement, as the Ministry of Defence is expected to approve new funding for the Kaveri Engine programme.

This crucial financial injection will accelerate the development of an indigenous afterburner by BrahMos Aerospace and pave the way for integrating and flight-testing the engine on a Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.

The initiative is a major component of India's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self-reliant India) policy, which aims to reduce the nation's dependency on foreign-built engines that currently power its fleet of fighter jets, such as the American General Electric F404.

At the heart of this development is the Kaveri Engine Derivative (KDE), a project by the Defence Research and Development Organisation's (DRDO) Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE).

The engine, in its non-afterburning or 'dry' form, is primarily designed to power the DRDO's advanced Ghatak stealth Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV). This dry variant has already demonstrated a stable thrust of approximately 49 to 51 kilonewtons (kN).

The programme will now enter a critical phase with the development of a new afterburner, a system that injects additional fuel to dramatically increase thrust for combat manoeuvres and supersonic flight.

In a notable expansion of its role beyond supersonic missiles, BrahMos Aerospace has been tasked with engineering this afterburner. The goal is to add around 29 kN of thrust, potentially elevating the engine's total output to nearly 80 kN, making it a viable power plant for manned fighter aircraft.

To validate its real-world performance, the Kaveri engine with the new afterburner will be integrated into an older Limited Series Production (LSP) prototype of the Tejas fighter jet.

This flying testbed will allow engineers to gather vital data on the engine's capabilities in dynamic, high-altitude flight conditions. The success of these trials will be a proof-of-concept for the engine's design and reliability.

While the project has gained momentum, engineers are focused on overcoming key technical challenges, primarily reducing the engine's weight, which currently stands at around 1,180 kg, to be more competitive with foreign counterparts like the GE F404 (approximately 1,035 kg).

Industry experts believe this is a pivotal moment for India's aerospace and defence sector. The collaboration between DRDO, BrahMos, and private sector partners like Godrej Aerospace signifies a strengthening indigenous defence ecosystem.

Successful flight trials could provide a pathway to upgrade India's existing Tejas Mk1A fleet with a domestically produced engine and serve as the foundation for the more ambitious Kaveri 2.0.

This future version, aiming for a 95 kN thrust class, is slated to power next-generation aircraft, including the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), positioning India as a significant player in the global aerospace market.

 

[Vishwanath Vijay Thomre]

Someone dealing with the weight reduction of the engine may like to contact me. I may be of some help.

Prior to joining ADA, for the LCA project, I happen to work on PTAE-7 engine development. Having just returned from my Doctoral work on rotating structures, I was able to help control the weight of the engine, right in the first go. Also, I do feel that the country has state of the art capability in structural analysis & optimisation.

For information.

Dr K Sham Sunder
Outstanding Scientist & a former Project Director of ADA

Good Morning SIr,

Just for updating my knowledge, the GE404 engine gives thrust of about 78 to 79 kN as read in few articals because of the Indian atmospheric conditions its thrust reduces. The weight of the engine is approx 1080 kg. As read our Kaveri engine with BrahMos afterburner has achieved thrust of about 79 kN and the weight of engine is approx 1180 kg.
My question is can we not use the Kaveri engine directly once it passes the testing and certification, does the extra weight of approx 100 kg affect the Tejas Mk1 A performance. If yes how will it be affected. Can we compromise payload weight for munitions and use this engine, as this will be very cost effective and will have huge boost for upcoming projects.

 

[Dr K Sham Sunder]

Good Morning SIr,

Just for updating my knowledge, the GE404 engine gives thrust of about 78 to 79 kN as read in few articals because of the Indian atmospheric conditions its thrust reduces. The weight of the engine is approx 1080 kg. As read our Kaveri engine with BrahMos afterburner has achieved thrust of about 79 kN and the weight of engine is approx 1180 kg.
My question is can we not use the Kaveri engine directly once it passes the testing and certification, does the extra weight of approx 100 kg affect the Tejas Mk1 A performance. If yes how will it be affected. Can we compromise payload weight for munitions and use this engine, as this will be very cost effective and will have huge boost for upcoming projects.

The engine is at the rear end of the aircraft, asking already a big ballast to manage CG. Putting additional 100kg in the rear means, accepting additional 100kg ballast in the front, a dead weight, affecting the performance of the aircraft. In fighter aircraft parlance, every gram of weight saved is considered equivalent to a gram of gold.

Instead why don't we build the required capability for weight reduction and management. If we had taken the same liberty, LCA would not have been flying today. After two prototypes, we went for a composite fuselage, in place of metal one, to reduce weight.

I do appreciate the fact that a lot of scientists have difficulty to operate in R-Z-Theeta coordinates, for structural analysis of rotating structures, as they are trained to think in Cartiseon coordinates (X-Y-Z) during their education. Even the general purpose softwares such as NASTRAN may not support a sectorial 3-D analysis in R-Z-Theeta coordinates. But, that capability is a must, if we have to control the weight of aeroengines I am stating this based on my Doctoral work for such an analysis. If the concerned team is very keen to establish such a capability, I can consider getting involved, in the interest of the country, in spite of my old age constraints.

Dr K Sham Sunder
Outstanding Scientist & a former Project Director

 

[Vishwanath Vijay Thomre]

The engine is at the rear end of the aircraft, asking already a big ballast to manage CG. Putting additional 100kg in the rear means, accepting additional 100kg ballast in the front, a dead weight, affecting the performance of the aircraft. In fighter aircraft parlance, every gram of weight saved is considered equivalent to a gram of gold.

Instead why don't we build the required capability for weight reduction and management. If we had taken the same liberty, LCA would not have been flying today. After two prototypes, we went for a composite fuselage, in place of metal one, to reduce weight.

I do appreciate the fact that a lot of scientists have difficulty to operate in R-Z-Theeta coordinates, for structural analysis of rotating structures, as they are trained to think in Cartiseon coordinates (X-Y-Z) during their education. Even the general purpose softwares such as NASTRAN may not support a sectorial 3-D analysis in R-Z-Theeta coordinates. But, that capability is a must, if we have to control the weight of aeroengines I am stating this based on my Doctoral work for such an analysis. If the concerned team is very keen to establish such a capability, I can consider getting involved, in the interest of the country, in spite of my old age constraints.

Dr K Sham Sunder
Outstanding Scientist & a former Project Director

Thank you very much Sir for your indepth explanation. So that means if we are able to control the weight for this Kaveri engine will it be able to be integrated in the Tejas varients immediately or will have to trial and test this. If this engine gives the same GE404 and 414 specifications can this be immediate relacements. Request you Sir to help our young team to build one long standing dream to come true by getting involved in the project. I know this is easier to say but if at all you can get involved that can bring change then why not. I think India require more brains to move fast forward.

 

[Dr K Sham Sunder]

Thank you very much Sir for your indepth explanation. So that means if we are able to control the weight for this Kaveri engine will it be able to be integrated in the Tejas varients immediately or will have to trial and test this. If this engine gives the same GE404 and 414 specifications can this be immediate relacements. Request you Sir to help our young team to build one long standing dream to come true by getting involved in the project. I know this is easier to say but if at all you can get involved that can bring change then why not. I think India require more brains to move fast forward.

Thank you. By profession, I am a structural analysis expert and in the case of LCA, I was Project Director (Air-Frame), those days. Hence, it will not be appropriate for me to answer the queries raised, as I may not be fully competent to address them.