Reliance Industries partners with Rolls-Royce to co-develop a combat engine for India’s stealth fighter, marking a significant step towards boosting domestic military manufacturing amid geopolitical tensions.
Reliance Industries said on Friday it plans to work with Rolls-Royce on developing and manufacturing a combat engine for India’s fighter jet programme, in a move that underlines New Delhi’s push to build more advanced military hardware at home. The effort is tied to the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, India’s stealth fighter project, which is expected to have a prototype ready in 2028.
The project comes as India seeks to reduce its reliance on imported defence equipment and broaden domestic participation in sensitive military programmes. Last year, the government approved the framework for the AMCA and invited bids from defence companies, weeks after a clash with Pakistan heightened attention on air power and readiness. The aircraft is intended to become a central part of India’s future combat fleet.
Under the proposed partnership, Reliance and Rolls-Royce will examine setting up a dedicated aerospace gas turbine complex in India to jointly develop the engine. Anant Ambani, an executive director at Reliance, said the aim was to combine Rolls-Royce’s propulsion expertise with Reliance’s manufacturing and execution capabilities to build an indigenous aero-engine ecosystem.
The move could also sharpen competition with France’s Safran, which has separately proposed a joint venture with India’s state-run GTRE for a higher-thrust engine for later versions of the AMCA. Rolls-Royce has been building out its Indian footprint more broadly, with reports saying it wants to expand local sourcing and workforce levels sharply, while previous partnerships with Hindustan Aeronautics have included engine assembly, maintenance and supply-chain work. That background may help explain why the British group is pressing for a deeper role in India’s next generation of defence aviation.
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