A joint manufacturing agreement for fighter aircraft engines will be signed by GE Aerospace and HAL in India

A historic agreement to build fighter jet engines for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk-II—Tejas of the Indian Air Force has been signed, according to GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The statement was made during President Joe Biden’s invitation-only maiden state visit to the US for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The agreement includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India, and GE Aerospace continues to work with the US government to receive the necessary export authorisation for this,” the US company said in a statement today.

It called the Memorandum of Understanding with HAL a “key element” in boosting India and the US’s military cooperation.

H Lawrence Culp Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE and CEO of GE Aerospace, stated, “This is a historic deal made possible by our long-standing collaboration with India and HAL.

The arrangement would help GE Aerospace fulfil an earlier promise to the IAF to construct 99 engines as part of the LCA-Mk-II project.

“It puts the company in a strong position to create a family of products in India, including the F404 engine that currently powers the LCA Mk1 and LCA Mk1A aircraft and GE Aerospace’s selection for the prototype development, testing, and certification of the AMCA programme with our F414-INS6 engine,” the statement read.

The agreement is noteworthy since India has been purchasing its military aircraft from groups based in Europe and Russia.

Recently, the French combat aircraft maker Dassault sold 36 Rafale fighter fighters to the Indian Air Force.

Additionally, GE and the Indian government will keep working together on the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) Mk2 engine project.

“We are honoured to contribute to realising Biden and Modi’s goal of improved cooperation between the two countries. We assist our clients build the finest quality engines to fulfil the demands of their military fleet, and as such, we will provide significant economic and national security advantages for both nations. This is because of the unrivalled performance of our F414 engines, the US company said.

For the 83 light combat aircraft it is currently producing for the IAF, HAL employs GE 404 engines.

Since it began operating in India more than 40 years ago, GE Aerospace has been heavily involved in the sector, providing services, engines, avionics, engineering, production, and local sourcing.

The LCA Mk1 and LCA Mk2 projects’ development and manufacturing included the F404 and F414 from GE Aerospace.

99 more F404 engines are on order for LCA Mk1A, bringing the total number of engines supplied to 75.

According to a US company, eight F414 engines have been supplied as part of a continuing LCA Mk2 development initiative.