India and France have sealed an agreement to jointly design and manufacture a new 120 kN engine for the country’s upcoming Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) under a government-to-government deal.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced the collaboration with French company Safran, noting that India has “taken steps forward in the direction of building fifth-generation fighter aircraft” and will begin engine manufacturing in India with French support.
The engine project is part of the Horizon 2047 roadmap for the India–France strategic partnership. Development is expected to take 10 years, with production to follow. The engine will power the second tranche of AMCA fighters, while the initial batch will be equipped with GE-414 engines from the US.
Safran, which emerged ahead of Rolls Royce (UK) and GE (US), has also pitched the creation of a wider ecosystem for manufacturing multiple aircraft engines in India.
The French firm is already setting up a new Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in Hyderabad for the Rafale’s M88 engine, marking the first site outside France to service these modules.
Formal contract negotiations for the AMCA engine will begin soon, officials confirmed.
