Reliance Industries and Rolls-Royce have announced a strategic partnership to co-develop a sovereign combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme, signalling a significant shift towards self-reliance in military aerospace capabilities amid ongoing regional tensions.
Reliance Industries and Rolls-Royce said on 14 August 2026 that they plan to work together on a sovereign combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme, deepening a push to build more of the country’s military aerospace capability at home. In their joint statement, the companies said they would examine setting up a dedicated aerospace gas turbine complex in India to serve as a centre of excellence for propulsion work, covering design, development, manufacturing, testing, production and after-sales support.
The partnership builds on Rolls-Royce’s earlier bid to co-develop the engine on terms that would give India control over the intellectual property, according to an interview with Sashi Mukundan published by ThePrint in June 2026. Mukundan said the company had submitted a final offer for a 120 kN-plus engine, with a core test in 2030, first flight in 2034 and production in 2036 if a contract was signed by the end of 2026. He also said the aim was to make India Rolls-Royce’s fourth propulsion hub after Britain, the United States and Germany.
The engine work sits alongside a separate aircraft track that has already moved forward. India’s defence ministry approved the AMCA programme execution model in May 2025, naming the Aeronautical Development Agency as the lead body and allowing Indian public and private firms to bid alone or in partnerships. On propulsion, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in August 2025 that India was close to starting engine manufacturing with Safran, while later reporting described a joint venture between Safran and the Gas Turbine Research Establishment moving through clearances, although no signed contract has been made public.
The first AMCA aircraft are not expected to depend on any new indigenous engine deal. GE Aerospace said in June 2023 that it had been selected for prototype development, testing and certification under the programme with the F414-INS6 engine, alongside a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Aeronautics on possible F414 co-production in India. Rolls-Royce, meanwhile, has been highlighting its wider defence business in 2026, including progress in autonomous propulsion, as it seeks a larger role in India’s long-term military aviation plans.
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