NEW DELHI: In a boost to India’s fifth-generation fighter programme, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd and Rolls-Royce on Friday announced they plan to jointly develop a sovereign indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). As part of the partnership to design, develop, manufacture and deliver the same, Reliance and Rolls-Royce will explore the formation of a dedicated aerospace gas turbine complex that will be a centre for power and propulsion technology in India.Reliance Industries ED Anant Ambani said: “India’s strategic autonomy requires sovereign capability in critical technologies. Our intent with Rolls-Royce is to combine their world-leading expertise in advanced propulsion with Reliance’s technology, manufacturing, scale and execution capabilities to build an indigenous aero-engine ecosystem in India. Together, we aim to build an enduring national capability that can make India self-reliant and, over time, globally competitive in advanced propulsion technologies. This is our contribution to the PM Modi’s vision of an atmanirbhar viksit Bharat.”Rolls-Royce plc CEO Tufan Erginbilgiç said, “I welcome the opportunity to join forces with Reliance Industries, bringing together our century-long heritage in advanced engineering and proven engine expertise with their homegrown leadership in Indian industry. Together, with our existing partnerships and capabilities in India, this marks a major milestone towards building a robust, self-reliant aerospace ecosystem in the country.“The proposed aero gas turbine complex will build sovereign, end-to-end Indian capability across design, development, manufacturing, testing, production and through-life support. This will also unlock opportunities to explore wider collaborations across defence, civil aerospace, and new power and propulsion systems.
