RIL, Rolls-Royce in JV to develop combat engine; plans Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex

Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) and Rolls-Royce have announced their strategic intent to collaborate on the design, development, manufacture, and delivery of a sovereign, indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme

Besides this RIL and Rolls-Royce said they will explore the formation of a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex that will be a centre of excellence for power and propulsion technology in India.

“The partnership will offer a compelling proposition for joint development of the AMCA engine in India, bringing together world-leading technology and industrial execution capabilities,” the companies said in a joint statement.

Anant Ambani, Executive Director, RIL 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,” he added.

Tufan Erginbilgiç, CEO, Rolls-Royce said “I welcome the opportunity to join forces with RIL, 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,” he added.

By combining Rolls-Royce’s global leadership in engines with the industrial strengths of RIL, the Aero Gas Turbine Complex will build sovereign, end-to-end Indian capability across design, development, manufacturing, testing, production and through-life support, the companies said in the statement. 

This will also unlock opportunities to explore wider collaborations across defence, civil aerospace, and new power and propulsion systems, the statement added.