India Seeks New Global Partners to Develop Advanced Jet Engines

• India is in talks with the UK, France, and Japan to co-develop fighter jet engines.
• The project aims to boost domestic manufacturing with tech transfer and IP sharing.
• It’s part of India's push to cut import reliance and secure defense supply chains.

India has engaged with manufacturers from the United Kingdom, France, and Japan, to produce fighter jet engines collaboratively, escalating the defense partnership with other nations, highly relevant because of the increased regional tension, particularly with the governments of Russia and China.

According to individuals familiar with the negotiation process, the proposal will be evaluated by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and India wants to progress quickly.

Rolls-Royce is offering joint production and technology transfer; Safran S.A of France is offering to share technology and intellectual property and Japan has expressed the same direction to India in May.

These proposals came after bilateral meetings, including a meeting of India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart followed discussions on the development of tanks and on the development of aero-engine.

Also Read: India’s First Bullet Train Prototype Production Starts Sept 2025

The engines are going to be mounted to the twin-engine fighter jets India is going to produce shortly. The Ministry of Defence will soon seek government authority. This is part of a longer effort to reform the air force and to manufacture these components or products domestically in partnership with other global allies.

India has been engaged in negotiations with General Electric to develop GE F414 engines together but negotiations have become bogged down due to BE's failure to meet its timeframe for delivery, and during those delays last year GE was penalized for delays in supplying engines for India's indigenous jets.

India's Air Chief recently warned that delays in procurement would impact the readiness of defence forces, and therefore stressed the need for faster local development of critical systems. The push for local production of jet engines was justified by the need to secure supply chains for defence especially based on lessons learned from the current war in Ukraine and also aligned with India's strategy to reduce imports while creating local jobs in defence.