New Delhi, October 19: There’s an old saying in aerospace circles: building the airframe is the easy part. The real challenge? What makes it fly.
India got a reminder of both sides of that equation on Friday. In Nashik, a sleek Tejas Mk1A roared down the runway from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s brand-new production facility—proof that Indian engineers can build sophisticated combat aircraft. Hours earlier in Delhi, a government scientist laid out plans to spend ₹654 billion on jet engines over the next decade—proof that building what powers those aircraft remains the hard part.
The juxtaposition wasn’t accidental. It captures exactly where India stands in its quest for defence self-reliance: far enough to celebrate real achievements, not far enough to declare victory.
Follow the Money
S.V. Ramana Murthy doesn’t mince words. As head of the Gas Turbine Research Establishment—the lab tasked with developing indigenous jet engines—he knows better than anyone where the gaps are.
Speaking at a Delhi defence conference Friday, Murthy revealed India needs roughly 1,100 aircraft engines for fighter programmes currently in the pipeline through 2035. That’s not a small number. Each engine costs millions of dollars. Do the math, and you arrive at that ₹654 billion figure.
But here’s what makes the announcement significant: it’s not just about buying engines off the shelf. Murthy emphasized the urgent need to “work on mission mode to create an ecosystem for indigenous fighter engines,” pointing to missing infrastructure like high-altitude testing facilities and a proper industrial base. Translation: India is tired of depending on foreign suppliers for something so critical.
The Kaveri Elephant
Anyone following Indian defence knows about Kaveri—the indigenous engine programme that’s become a decades-long saga of technical setbacks and unfulfilled promises. The programme to power India’s Tejas fighters with homegrown Kaveri engines has consistently struggled with technical shortcomings.
It’s the kind of failure that sounds like a punchline until you understand what’s at stake. Jet engines operate at temperatures that would melt most metals. Turbine blades spin at speeds that create stresses most materials can’t handle. The metallurgy alone requires capabilities only a handful of countries possess.
India poured money and talent into Kaveri for years. It didn’t work out. That’s not embarrassing—it’s just really, really hard.
A Better Day in Nashik
The mood 200 kilometers northeast in Nashik was considerably brighter.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh watched as the Tejas Mk1A completed its maiden flight from HAL’s newly inaugurated third production facility, marking a genuine milestone for India’s aerospace sector.
The aircraft received the full ceremonial treatment—water cannon salutes, flypasts with Sukhoi jets, speeches about national pride. Singh told the crowd gathered at the facility that India should now aim beyond just the Tejas, targeting “next-generation aircraft, unmanned systems, and civil aviation as well.”
Bold words. But the Tejas achievement deserves some credit. This is a genuine 4.5-generation fighter with modern avionics, sophisticated radar, and weapons integration that works. HAL now has three production lines—two in Bengaluru, one in Nashik—capable of churning out 24 aircraft yearly.
Given that India’s air force is operating well below its authorized fighter strength, that production capacity matters.
The American Problem
Except there’s a catch. Actually, several thousand catches, each weighing about 2,500 pounds and sitting in a General Electric facility in the United States.
HAL signed a contract in August 2021 worth ₹5,375 crore for 99 GE F404 engines. Four years later, they’ve received exactly four engines.
Four. Out of ninety-nine.
You can have the best factories, the most skilled technicians, state-of-the-art assembly lines—none of it matters if the engines don’t show up. This bottleneck has delayed Tejas deliveries and left air force planners frustrated. Earlier this month, India’s Air Chief Marshal described waiting for the Mk1A as being like “waiting with hungry mouths for food.”
Not exactly subtle.
This vulnerability explains why that ₹654 billion commitment isn’t just about money—it’s about strategic autonomy. Murthy specifically highlighted building domestic capabilities including high-altitude test facilities, advanced materials labs, and precision turbine blade manufacturing centers.
The Partnership Path
India isn’t naive enough to think it can master jet engines in isolation. Negotiations are underway with international partners for co-developing engines for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme, with companies like France’s Safran, Britain’s Rolls-Royce, and America’s General Electric all expressing interest.
This is probably the smart play. Learn from those who’ve already solved the problems. Transfer technology. Build capabilities gradually. It’s less satisfying than a purely indigenous solution, but it’s realistic.
The Indian Air Force has orders for 180 Tejas Mk1A fighters on the books. Then there’s the Mk2 variant under development. Beyond that, the ambitious fifth-generation AMCA programme. All need engines that can handle extreme conditions reliably for decades.
What Success Looks Like
HAL’s chairman, C.B. Ananthakrishnan, called Friday’s Nashik flight “a historic achievement” that demonstrates India’s advancing aircraft manufacturing capability. He has reason for optimism—the Nashik facility alone will employ over a thousand people and support dozens of component suppliers across three states.
But sustainable success means not just building jets, but powering them independently. The ₹654 billion investment is India’s down payment on that future.
Will it work? Eventually, probably yes. Countries that commit this level of resources and focus typically achieve their aerospace goals, even if timelines slip. China struggled with jet engines for decades before cracking the code. India’s likely on a similar journey.
The question is how long it takes, and what vulnerabilities exist in the meantime. For now, India celebrates what it’s achieved while acknowledging frankly what remains to be done.
That honest reckoning might be the most encouraging sign of all.
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