Opinion Why HAL Needs to Increase Indigenous Content in New 240 AL-31FP Engines of Su-30 MKI

India's recent approval for the procurement of 240 AL-31FP aero-engines for its Su-30 MKI aircraft highlights a pressing need for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to boost the indigenous content in these engines.

While the acquisition, valued at over Rs 26,000 crore, is a step towards maintaining the operational readiness of the Indian Air Force's (IAF) Su-30 MKI fleet, the current level of indigenous content in the AL-31FP engines, at less than 54%, raises concerns about India's dependence on foreign suppliers.

The AL-31FP engine is the powerhouse behind the Su-30 MKI, the IAF's most advanced and numerous fighter aircraft. These engines, upgraded with FADEC technology, play a pivotal role in safeguarding India's airspace and projecting its military power in the region.

However, relying heavily on foreign components for these critical engines leaves India vulnerable to supply chain disruptions, geopolitical uncertainties, and potential restrictions on technology transfer. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russia, the primary supplier of these engines, further underscore the vulnerability of depending on external sources.

Increasing the indigenous content in the AL-31FP engines will not only reduce India's dependence on foreign suppliers but also enhance its self-reliance in critical defence technologies. This will strengthen India's strategic autonomy, allowing it to make independent decisions regarding its defense preparedness without being constrained by external factors.

Furthermore, greater indigenous content will boost India's domestic aerospace industry, creating jobs, fostering technological innovation, and contributing to the country's economic growth. It will also provide valuable opportunities for Indian engineers and scientists to gain expertise in advanced engine technologies, paving the way for future developments in the aerospace sector.

The decision to procure a new batch of AL-31FP engines with upgraded FADEC technology underscores the Indian government's commitment to maintaining the IAF's combat capabilities. However, it is imperative for HAL to seize this opportunity to increase the indigenous content in these engines significantly.

 

[sanket]

why not pvt companies desin & develop that remaning 46% components ............??? who are associated with Foreign Aero-Engine OEM ..

 

[GMR]

why not pvt companies desin & develop that remaning 46% components ............??? who are associated with Foreign Aero-Engine OEM ..

If u were a private entrepreneur, will u like to be associated with HAL? Will you risk investment for 20-25% omponent production for such limited quantity? Will you be like to associated with the burocracy of DPSUs' & govt. agencies?
Perhalfs not, as own investors will demand answers from you.

 

[sanket]

If u were a private entrepreneur, will u like to be associated with HAL? Will you risk investment for 20-25% omponent production for such limited quantity? Will you be like to associated with the burocracy of DPSUs' & govt. agencies?
Perhalfs not, as own investors will demand answers from you.

240 engines are not a limited order. Once they start manufacturing these components, Bharat has many fighter jet projects lined up - from Tejas MK2 (300 to 400 engines for its lifetime, almost 200), TEDBF (being a twin-engine, it will require 600 engines in its lifetime), to AMCA (again, being a twin-engine, it will require 1,000 engines in its lifespan). Just consider the market potential of engine components!

 

[Instant Karma]

If u were a private entrepreneur, will u like to be associated with HAL? Will you risk investment for 20-25% omponent production for such limited quantity? Will you be like to associated with the burocracy of DPSUs' & govt. agencies?
Perhalfs not, as own investors will demand answers from you.

There are 300+ MSME associated with HAL as components suppliers for SU 30 well before the Tejas programme.

 

[abhinav srivastava]

Before howitzer tech transfer happened around 1986-88. But it took 20 years to absorb the tech. Jet engine is much complex. They may take 30-40years to do so. We must work on improving our competence.

 

[Radha Ramanan]

The desi content cannot be increases due to the IPR agreement between india and russia a long time ago when the deal was done . In fact at that time russia offered us a good deal when no body helped us. In the deal it is mandated that we buy even titanium raw material and other high end metals from russia. The FBW codes and other critical stuff have to come from russia , we cant do any thing thats why the desi produced su 30 mki is more costlier.
The chinese tried to copy the engine and failed, ultimately they started on a clean sheet design and succeeded now after 20yrs plus in spite of manufacturing jet engines for many other jets. They have copied the TVC part of the engines that came with the su-35.The FADEC was already there this seems to be an improved version.
The russians tried to fool us by offering the later higher thrust engine , that comes with increased cost and more royalties.. we said no thanks..

 

[kurtwallis wallis]

why not pvt companies desin & develop that remaning 46% components ............??? who are associated with Foreign Aero-Engine OEM ..

HAL-GTRE will totally rebuild and refurbish all 84 SU30MKI jet engines using latest tech's developed by DMRL-Midhani and Jindal Steel next.. It will have latest BEST FADEC of BEL-HAL designs too...

 

[swatkats_razor]

There are 300+ MSME associated with HAL as components suppliers for SU 30 well before the Tejas programme.

Su-30 MKI has established supply-lines and due to the nature of the contract, the scope for each vendor is well defined. The fact that only medium scale enterprises are involved indicates that there is no economies of scale to be made out of the contracts.

LCA TEJAS was an indigenous platform and involvement of Indian industry should have been much higher. But here too once butten twice shy, private sector refuses to burn money on a project which has seen little by the way of production speed to justify massive private investment for its production.

 

[Sunny]

We should have selected AL41 variant like the Russians instead of continuing with AL-31 and asked for TOT for the SU-30 upgrade. Russians will eventually stop manufacturing AL-31 components and we will either be stuck with unserviceable engine or the Russians will ask a fortune for the spares.

 

[Sandeep]

We should have selected AL41 variant like the Russians instead of continuing with AL-31 and asked for TOT for the SU-30 upgrade. Russians will eventually stop manufacturing AL-31 components and we will either be stuck with unserviceable engine or the Russians will ask a fortune for the spares.

No we shouldn’t have because the cost to manufacture the engines and operate them would be too high. We also have to build a brand new engine production facilities, establish new supply chains and manufacturers would also take a very long time as well.

It’s far better, easier, cheaper and quicker to use what we have already built and developed over the years.

 

[Sunny]

No we shouldn’t have because the cost to manufacture the engines and operate them would be too high. We also have to build a brand new engine production facilities, establish new supply chains and manufacturers would also take a very long time as well.

It’s far better, easier, cheaper and quicker to use what we have already built and developed over the years.

Agree on the cost and complexity part. But we will face dire spares issues some years down the line, unless we get to manufacture all spares locally for the AL-31FP as we barely have 50% TOT now.

Also considering the number of years the SU-30mki will be in service and the improved thrust and service interval of the AL-41 compared to AL-31 I believe it would have been a better choice as we could have negotiated better TOT.

 

[Sandeep]

First it’s unclear what the final percentage of Indian content the engine will have.

Also once we install these new engines with FADEC then it will improve the performance, maintenance, efficiency and servicing by a lot. It’s best that we kept the same engine because then we can use our existing production facilities and our existing supply chain and manufacturers rather than having to make new ones which takes time and it would delay our delivery. Also HAL and the private sector can also increase the indigenous content and make changes to improve its performance.

 

[Sandeep]

Agree on the cost and complexity part. But we will face dire spares issues some years down the line, unless we get to manufacture all spares locally for the AL-31FP as we barely have 50% TOT now.

Also considering the number of years the SU-30mki will be in service and the improved thrust and service interval of the AL-41 compared to AL-31 I believe it would have been a better choice as we could have negotiated better TOT.

Most of the spares, LRU, some parts and components is already being made in India now. So this now increases the amount of indigenous parts and contents that are used.

Switching engines to produce more thrust costs more to operate, needs more fuel requirements, decreases the air frame life and we would have to have a major upgrade of the fuselage much earlier on. So far we want to avoid that because now we just need to upgrade everything internally with the super Sukhoi program rather than external hardware.

 

[ravin]

Our defence technology development, specially aircraft engines, HAL, GTRE, need some repairing or training from South Korea and/or china in approaching this area. So many pioneering academics here..

 

[linus52]

We have Kaveri and we should allow Private companies to take it and deliver within 3 yrs but Babus won't allow any of it. We have talent but No leader to drive corruption is letting us down

 

[R. Singh]

Take the indigenous content level of AL-31 to 80% seek more tech from Russia and also make AL-41 engines with 80% TOT, if this happen make 120+ more Super SU-30MKI -B , heavy bombers capable to carry 10-11 ton of weapon load !