Mastery over core engine technology will open multiple avenues of utilisation: Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari (retd)

NINETY YEARS AGO, Frank Whittle, a cadet at the Royal Air Force College in Cranwell, submitted a proposal for a turbojet engine. It was a simple centrifugal flow compressor engine that earned him his first patent. Just a few years later, a German, Hans Von Ohain, developed the first axial flow turbojet engine. These two engine developments gave both countries the first jet powered aircraft, the Gloster Meteor and the Messerschmitt Me 262, that saw combat in the last year of World War II.

Almost 60 years ago, we began the design and manufacture of two jet aircraft, the Marut and the Kiran. These indigenously designed and built aircraft, as also the Tejas, have been powered by imported engines. We have had the licence to manufacture engines for the Jaguar, Hawk and the Su-30MKI, but ‘build to print’ has not provided the necessary technology to be able to ‘build to design’ our own aero engine.

Today as we march towards becoming a self-reliant nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared that we will build our own aero engine. Almost four decades ago, a beginning was made by GTRE (Gas Turbine Research Establishment) to develop the Kaveri engine. The efforts of the teams behind the engine are laudable, but the desired outcome has been evasive for multiple reasons. As we redeem our pledge to design and develop our own engine, we need to look at disruptive strategies. The recently announced collaboration with French company Safran is a welcome step.

But what do we stand to gain by investing so heavily in the endeavour? Fundamentally, an aero engine is one of the most complex machines in the world. It is the most physically demanding system in which the compressor rotates at a speed as high as 50,000RPM and the turbine blades have to withstand temperatures of 1,700-1,800 degrees Celsius. The first offshoot of this would be the development and production of superalloys. Today these superalloys are used in applications right from medical prosthetics to rocket engines, and have the potential to cut down on imports in many domains.

Mastery over core engine technologies will result in our ability to scale up or scale down the size and thrust of engines, opening up multiple avenues for their utilisation. Our commercial aviation sector relies entirely on two or three global engine manufacturers. Unmanned aerial vehicles and cruise missiles are powered by smaller engines, most of which are still imported. The scale of engines of different size and thrust required to power the aircraft and drones of the future is too large. An important offshoot of this technology would be the ability to manufacture gas turbines for ships, auxiliary power units for aircraft and missile systems. Alongside the manufacturing industry, the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry will get a shot in the arm. Consider the figures: over 1,700 commercial aircraft and similar number of military aircraft share the airspace over our country. That amounts to almost 5,000 aero engines. The scale of MRO operations required now and in future is quite staggering. Autonomy in this field is mandatory, lest we have to curtail our ambitions to be a formidable aerospace power.

Militarily, as the recent Operation Sindoor has demonstrated, air power can achieve strategic outcomes even in grey-zone or no-war-no-peace situations. At the core of generating air power for deterrence, war fighting or benign roles of conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions lies the ability to produce aero engines and build combat aircraft. Gaining control over critical technologies will reduce our vulnerabilities, especially when nations are being held hostage to unpredictable sanctions. The ongoing conflicts across the globe have highlighted the necessity for having strategic autonomy, especially over niche technologies like aero engines, networks, sensors and weapons.

In the realm of manufacturing, technologies such as high precision forging, single-crystal blade casting, additive manufacturing and fabrication of critical components along with development of ceramics and composites will call for myriad industries pitching in. A large pool of trained engineers, technicians and craftsmen will be required to sustain the momentum.

Along with the core engine, there will be a need to develop ancillary equipment such as AC/DC generators, hydraulic pumps, digital engine control systems and auxiliary power drives. Parallel design and development of these systems will ensure that the final engine that will power the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft will be indigenous in all aspects. Even with the best of deals for collaborative manufacturing, it will only be successful if we have a clear technology strategy that includes training, attaching importance to cultivate innovative talent, providing incentives to mobilise the best of scientific and technical personnel. As the process of design and manufacturing begins, we have to establish production and management systems that will focus on efficiency and economy.

Being atmanirbhar in aero engines will not only strengthen national defence, but will also bolster the national economy through the development of materials, manufacturing technologies, digital twinning, experimentation and testing engineering and industrial processes. The entire aviation ecosystem will be revitalised with benefits accruing not only to the military and civil aviation, but also to high technology sectors.

Given the salience of air power in future conflicts and in nation-building, reducing the dependence on foreign original equipment manufacturers to build aero engines is not only pragmatic but also prudent. There will be difficulties, new challenges and we may stretch our resources, but we have to take the big leap forward now to propel our country into self-reliance in the field of aviation, lest we squander a historic opportunity to be truly atmanirbhar.