Russia Resists HAL's Plan to Increase Indigenous Content in AL-31FP Engines, Cites ToT Agreement and IP Rights

India's efforts to boost domestic production of the AL-31FP aero engines, which power the Indian Air Force's Su-30MKI fighter jets, have encountered resistance from Russia.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) currently produces these engines under license at its Koraput division, with an indigenous content level of less than 54%. HAL aims to increase this to 63% in the coming years, but Russia's reluctance to approve further localization efforts poses a significant challenge.

The primary obstacle lies in the original transfer of technology (ToT) agreement, which stipulates that HAL must source raw materials for the AL-31FP engines exclusively from Russia. This restriction limits HAL's ability to substitute components with locally manufactured parts or utilize Indian alloys without Russian approval.

Although HAL and the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) have formulated plans to replace certain assemblies and sub-assemblies with indigenously produced equivalents, Russia has cautioned that such modifications could void the engines' warranty.

Russia's stance is rooted in its desire to protect its intellectual property (IP) rights over the AL-31FP engines. Moscow seeks to safeguard its proprietary technologies and maintain a degree of control over the production process.

Despite these hurdles, HAL and GTRE remain committed to increasing the indigenization of the AL-31FP engines. Replacing key assemblies with components manufactured using Indian alloys and raw materials is seen as crucial for enhancing the engines' durability and reducing dependence on foreign suppliers.

However, if HAL proceeds with these modifications without Russian authorization, it will have to assume full responsibility for the engines' performance, including providing warranties and after-sales support. This could potentially increase the cost and complexity of maintenance for the Indian Air Force.

 

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[Avada kedavra]

Russia is at its weakest now. Why doesnt india play hardball and get more concessions?

 

[LookMoo]

I am certain things can be done on the side by GTRE to produce, test, and commission reverse-engineered engines to replace Russian engines. The cost would be justified by the knowledge base this would build, and a warranty can be provided by GTRE.

As Col. Squdit Sing pointed out, the main reason for not addressing this issue sooner is the evident incompetence within the DDP and DRDO (branches of the Indian Ministry of Defence). Currently, many Indian companies manufacture military spare parts and export them under deceptive labels like "nozzle to ice-cream machine." Some of these parts are even sold back to India.

The first step in any military project should be to overhaul the peculiarities of the Indian administration. Today, many Indian nationals working at companies like Boeing and NASA find themselves unable to contribute effectively within India. Their American salaries in USD, resemble telephone numbers.

In the latest defense news, drone development is stalling in India due to restrictions on flying higher than 50 meters. Comparatively, in the USA, drones can fly up to 400 feet (about 122 meters) above ground level.

 

[Sandeep]

This engine deal was the best deal that we could ever get during that time. The west didn’t want to sell us their engines let alone manufacture it indigenously under a license.

With this engine we managed to learn a lot more in how to design, develop, manufacture, science and engineering education and skills, manufacturing machinery requirements, metal composition, metal manufacturing processes etc.

Over time we have managed to learn more about it and can now make improvements on it. India shouldn’t even tell the Russians that we will use more of our indigenous raw materials, parts and components. Also any improvements that can be made can benefit Russia whenever they want to sell the engines to another poor country who can’t afford all of this or have access to superior engines from the west.

 

[swatkats_razor]

If you fail in reverse-engineering, then there'd be penalties to pay or restricted ToT, etc.

Makes sense. Not that we are known to do wonders with the ToT that we do manage to receive.

 

[Anant]

Su30 russian ignored indian colloboration and without indian permission they sold. Similarly we ignore their legal terms and maximize indigenious content.

Um, nope. The Su-30 was never an Indian aircraft. The Su-30MKI arguably was a collaborative project, and India has never denied any requests to sell variants of the MKI, namely the Su-30MKM to Malaysia or the Su-30MKA to Algeria.

However, Russia doesn't need our permission to sell the Su-30 as a platform.

 

[airair]

Russia needs India, and India needs Russia.
For their existence, survival and growth.
If they consider it one, the term 'indigenous' would become redundant.
Russia made Sukhoi - nobody is denying it, and nobody is taking credit away from Russia. Its IP rights are intact.
India has built upon Russia's achievements by reducing costs, and Russia should acknowledge this progress. It's important to note that Sukhoi is not the only aspect of their collaboration. The industry continues to evolve, and one cannot afford to remain fixated on a single milestone. There are various other sectors where India and Russia work together. While Russia's concerns are understandable, it should recognise that the technology behind Sukhoi ceased to be a secret when it sold the product to India. Instead of expressing dissatisfaction, Russia should focus on developing a new advanced version of the product that India would struggle to replicate quickly.
Furthermore, Russia relies on India in several respects. For instance, in civil aviation, Russia seeks Indian expertise to operate its aviation sector, which sanctions have hindered.