While the Narendra Modi government is tight-lipped about the entire project, HT learns that the GE-414 engine will be manufactured under terms that include 100% transfer of technology
New Delhi: India and US will take their defence cooperation to the next level with the Joe Biden administration giving a green signal to GE, a world leader in military jet engines, to manufacture 98 kilo-newton thrust GE-414 engines in India in collaboration with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and a still-to-be-identified private defence equipment maker. The India specific GE-414 INS6 engine will power the LCA (light combat aircraft) Mark II, which will be rolled out by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) early next year and take to the skies by the end of 2024, and the under-development twin engine Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.
While the Narendra Modi government is tight-lipped about the entire project, HT learns that the GE-414 engine will be manufactured under terms that include 100% transfer of technology (ToT), with the deal likely to be sealed during the on-going visit of the high-level delegation led by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval’s visit to the US. Accompanying Doval to the bilateral dialogue on “Critical and Emerging Technologies” with US NSA Jake Sullivan are scientific adviser to Raksha Mantri, Satheesh Reddy, DRDO chief Samir V Kamat, principal scientific adviser Ajay Sood, and secretary (telecom) K Rajaram.
One Monday night, at a dinner hosted by Indian Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu and attended by senior US officials including Sullivan, Doval highlighted the need to convert intentions and ideas into actions and specific deliverables through focused steps in a timebound manner.
