Reliance and Rolls-Royce Announce Intent to Jointly Develop AMCA 5th-Gen Engine, Plans Aero Gas Turbine Complex in India

Reliance Industries Limited and British engineering firm Rolls-Royce have declared their intention to collaborate on the design, development, and production of a homegrown combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program.

As part of this proposed partnership, the two companies plan to establish a specialized Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex in India.

This new facility is intended to serve as a national hub for advanced power and propulsion technology, managing the entire lifecycle of the engines—from initial design and testing to large-scale manufacturing and long-term maintenance.

The AMCA is India's ambitious project to build a fifth-generation stealth fighter jet, spearheaded by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

While the initial batch of these stealth fighters (AMCA Mark 1) will be powered by American GE F414 engines, the advanced Mark 2 version requires a much more powerful, custom-built engine generating around 110 kiloNewtons (kN) of thrust.

India has actively been seeking a global partner to co-develop this complex technology locally, and Rolls-Royce has been one of the primary contenders offering its intellectual property and technical expertise.

By combining forces, Reliance and Rolls-Royce aim to meet the Indian government's requirement for a sovereign aero-engine.

Anant Ambani, Executive Director of Reliance Industries, emphasized that true strategic autonomy requires India to control critical technologies.

He stated that merging Rolls-Royce's global propulsion expertise with Reliance's massive manufacturing and execution capabilities will help build a self-reliant and globally competitive aero-engine ecosystem in the country.

Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç echoed this vision, noting that blending the company’s century-long history in aviation engineering with Reliance’s industrial leadership will mark a significant milestone in developing a robust aerospace manufacturing base in India.

Beyond the immediate requirements of the AMCA fighter jet, the joint venture is expected to lay the foundation for a broader industrial capability.

The companies indicated that this new complex could unlock future collaborative opportunities across civil aviation, other defence applications, and next-generation power systems.

This move directly aligns with the Indian government's "Atmanirbhar Bharat" (Self-Reliant India) initiative, which heavily encourages private sector participation to reduce the nation's reliance on imported defence equipment.

 

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[KVS]

Will the MOD support this initiative too?

 

[Spitfire9]

Will the MOD support this initiative too?

I think time is of the essence here. RR has made its final and best offer to develop an engine for AMCA. That offer lapses 31st December this year IIRC. Would RR remain interested in setting up in a big way in India if it is not selected for the AMCA engine project?

Edit:
From the RR press release linked below it sounds like the December 31st deadline has gone.

Reliance Industries and Rolls-Royce announce strategic intent to partner and develop India's indigenous combat engine for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme

Reliance Industries and Rolls-Royce announce strategic intent to partner and develop India's indigenous combat engine for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme

www.rolls-royce.com

 

[R. Singh]

Reliance (Mukesh Ambani led) and Rolls Royce should start with 90-110 KN class engines for Tejas and TEDBF program !

 

[Spitfire9]

Reliance (Mukesh Ambani led) and Rolls Royce should start with 90-110 KN class engines for Tejas and TEDBF program !

I think that order of the day is for India to finally commit to an engine for AMCA Mk2 over which India has sovereignty. RR+Reliance looks like a stronger combination than SAFRAN+GTRE to me.

The other order of the day is to choose who builds AMCA. Astonishingly, I hear that decision has recently been delayed by 3 months.

 

[Hari Sud]

Let us see if they can do it. It coukd be Rolls Royce pressure tactic to take India away from Safran.

 

[Muks]

Let us see if they can do it. It coukd be Rolls Royce pressure tactic to take India away from Safran.

The Safran deal has been put up to CCS for approval. Which means the only way it can stop is funding. Everything else is done.

Having said that, this RR-R venture is still a good one if they can succeed. The TEDBF is hardly off the ground and they could target this for a start. Each airframe requires at least two sets of engines for its lifetime plus a smaller number for bird hits or other technical defects. So even if there are just 100 TEDBF built it means over 400 engines. A good target to start.

Further, knowing RR-R they will probably develop a somewhat scalable core to remain future relevant. The US blackmail or shenighans against India is unlikely to stop till such time that the US actually has a confrontation with China. Thus if they are smart they would also look at providing replacements for GE 404 and 414. There will be a massive market world wide for that.

 

[KVS]

The Safran deal has been put up to CCS for approval. Which means the only way it can stop is funding. Everything else is done.

Having said that, this RR-R venture is still a good one if they can succeed. The TEDBF is hardly off the ground and they could target this for a start. Each airframe requires at least two sets of engines for its lifetime plus a smaller number for bird hits or other technical defects. So even if there are just 100 TEDBF built it means over 400 engines. A good target to start.

Further, knowing RR-R they will probably develop a somewhat scalable core to remain future relevant. The US blackmail or shenighans against India is unlikely to stop till such time that the US actually has a confrontation with China. Thus if they are smart they would also look at providing replacements for GE 404 and 414. There will be a massive market world wide for that.

I wish your suggestions were carried out by RR and Ambanis!😊

 

[Muks]

I wish your suggestions were carried out by RR and Ambanis!😊

Only time can tell.

 

[Navigator91]

Saffran has reneged once in the supply of the Source Code as a part of the first batch supply of Rafaels and there is no guarantee of that not being repeated. Perhaps it would be prudent for Reliance to finalise the deal with Rolce Royce asap ensuring enforceable penalties for failure to comply with contractual terms.

 

[Muks]

Saffran has reneged once in the supply of the Source Code as a part of the first batch supply of Rafaels and there is no guarantee of that not being repeated. Perhaps it would be prudent for Reliance to finalise the deal with Rolce Royce asap ensuring enforceable penalties for failure to comply with contractual terms.

You are wrong. There was no source code deal with Dassault or FADEC code deal with Safran. The number then was too small for such a demand.

 

[Navigator91]

I beg to differ. There was no minimum threshold quoted to qualify for SC. It would have been myopic for Babus in the defence procurement division to order the fighter jets without the implements to use it. Without agreement to the supply of French missiles, usage of Indian missiles was implied. The French were fully aware that India was assuming the supply of SC for the integration of its equipment. It was dishonest of the French not to clarify and foolish of the Babus to assume otherwise. For further supply of over 100 Rafaels, provision of TOT, SC and Integration Manuals should be a precondition prior to any consideration for any more Rafaels whatsoever bearing in mind that collaboration with the Germans has been terminated because of the french reluctance to share the technologies for 5th / 6th generation fighter jets. India would be a much weaker partner to coerce and dispense with if collaborative effort was stressed just as experienced with the Russians.

 

[Muks]

I beg to differ. There was no minimum threshold quoted to qualify for SC. It would have been myopic for Babus in the defence procurement division to order the fighter jets without the implements to use it. Without agreement to the supply of French missiles, usage of Indian missiles was implied. The French were fully aware that India was assuming the supply of SC for the integration of its equipment. It was dishonest of the French not to clarify and foolish of the Babus to assume otherwise. For further supply of over 100 Rafaels, provision of TOT, SC and Integration Manuals should be a precondition prior to any consideration for any more Rafaels whatsoever bearing in mind that collaboration with the Germans has been terminated because of the french reluctance to share the technologies for 5th / 6th generation fighter jets. India would be a much weaker partner to coerce and dispense with if collaborative effort was stressed just as experienced with the Russians.

PLease quote one deal where the source code was given. No OEM will ever part with it. Especially if it is a small deal. Giving away the source code means giving away sovereign rights and virtually cutting oneself off from both continued supple of weapons and future upgrades.

Source code is part of the demand for the new deal, that is why the French are kicking and screaming. One one hand a deal of about 35 billion now and loss of weapons supply and upgrades later. Or lose the deal now. We dont know what will happen. I suspect a compromise of sorts, with API level accsess and possibly frozen prices for upgrades with Indian participation. Time will tell.