India set to get 11 key technologies as part of fighter jet engine deal

According to sources, there is “in-principle” agreement on the deal regarding US company General Electric’s GE-F414 INS6 engine for India’s indigenous Tejas Mk 2 — an advanced version of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A developed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

“The engine will be manufactured in India with around 80 per cent of value and technology being transferred to HAL,” said sources, adding, “(for) the remaining 20 per cent also, there is no denial as such”.

“Most probably, they will indicate their agreement during the PM’s visit,” said sources, adding that the US Congress, which has signalled “bipartisan support” to the deal, will then have to approve it.

According to sources, India will get at least 11 “major manufacturing technologies” as part of the GE-HAL fighter jet engine deal, which are not readily available in India. These are covered in the transfer of technology programme as part of the deal, sources said.

These technologies include: special coatings for corrosion, erosion and thermal barrier for hot end; machining and coating for single crystal turbine blades; machining and coating of nozzle guide vanes and other hot end parts; blisk machining; machining of powder metallurgy discs for turbine; machining thin-walled titanium casing; friction/inertia welding for fan & afterburner; PMC (polymer matrix composites) for bypass duct; machining & coating of CMC (ceramic matrix composites) for nozzle; laser drilling technology for combustor; and bottle boring of shafts, sources said.

With these technologies, India’s efforts towards realising higher thrust engines would get a boost, and some of the critical technology gaps can be closed, said sources. The transfer of these technologies will happen over the next two-three years, added sources.

“As soon as the contract is signed, they will start engaging with HAL, supporting them in transferring the manufacturing technology. But for establishing a factory for manufacturing the jet engines, it will take at least two years,” said sources.

“Meanwhile Tejas Mk-2 also has to be manufactured simultaneously. That will also take two to two-and-a-half years. So we can hope that the process will happen in the next four years. The engines will happen in the next three years,” said sources.

According to sources, this is the first time that the US is transferring such technology to another country. No other country has given or is willing to transfer such high-end critical technology, said sources. “They are saying that they will transfer the technology and also tell us how to do it,” said sources.

Over the last few years, defence cooperation between India and the US has gained momentum, with several agreements being signed to provide the legal framework for enhanced interaction and exchange of information between the militaries. These include: Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (2016); Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (2018); Industrial Security Agreement (2019); and Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (2020).

A Memorandum of Intent was also signed in 2018 between Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX), Ministry of Defence in the Indian government, and Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), Department of Defense, USA regarding defence innovation cooperation.

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Last month, the India-US Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap was concluded during US Defence Secretary Lloyd J Austin’s visit, which is aimed to fast-track technology cooperation and co-production in areas of mutual interest.