Reliance joins Rolls-Royce bid for India’s AMCA fighter engine

Reliance Industries and Rolls-Royce said on August 14, 2026, that they intend to partner on the design, development, manufacture, and delivery of what they described as a sovereign, indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) program. 

The joint release states that the companies will explore forming a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex in India, positioned as a center of excellence for power and propulsion technology spanning design, development, manufacturing, testing, production, and through-life support. 

Anant Ambani, Executive Director at Reliance, said in the release that India’s strategic autonomy requires sovereign capability in critical technologies. Tufan Erginbilgic, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce, described the tie-up in the same release as a step toward a self-reliant aerospace ecosystem in the country. 

Rolls-Royce filed its final offer in June 2026 

Rolls-Royce already had an offer on the table. Sashi Mukundan, Executive Vice President for Transformation at Rolls-Royce India, told ThePrint in an interview published on June 23, 2026, that the company had submitted its final offer for a 120 kN-plus engine, with a core test in 2030, a first flight in 2034, and production in 2036 if a contract were signed by the end of 2026.  

He said the intellectual property generated under the program would remain with the Indian government and that Rolls-Royce wanted India to be its fourth propulsion hub after the UK, the US, and Germany. 

Safran remains on a parallel track  

The government has run the engine on a separate track from the airframe. India’s Ministry of Defense approved the AMCA Programme Execution Model on May 27, 2025, naming the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) as the executing body and opening bidding to Indian public and private entities on a competitive basis, independently or as joint ventures or consortia. 

On propulsion, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh publicly said in August 2025 at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum in New Delhi that India was about to begin engine manufacturing with Safran. Reporting has since described a Safran and Gas Turbine Research Establishment joint venture moving through government clearances, though no primary document confirming a signed contract has been published. 

Early AMCA aircraft will use GE F414 engines 

A US Navy technician performs maintenance on an F414-GE-400 engine aboard USS Ronald Reagan. The related F414-INS6 variant will power the first AMCA prototypes. (Credit: U.S. Navy photo)The first AMCA aircraft are not affected either way. GE Aerospace said on June 22, 2023, that it had been selected for prototype development, testing, and certification under the AMCA program with the F414-INS6 and announced a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) covering potential F414 co-production in India. The post Reliance joins Rolls-Royce bid for India’s AMCA fighter engine appeared first on AeroTime.

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