F414 ENGINES AND INDUS-X - DEFENCE AND SECURITY
News: GE
Aerospace, HAL sign MoU for manufacture of jet engines in India; U.S. Congress
approval awaited
What's in the news?
● Amid
the ongoing U.S. visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, engine manufacturer GE
Aerospace announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce fighter jet engines for the
indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
Key takeaways:
● The
agreement includes the potential joint
production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India, and GE Aerospace
continues to work with the U.S. government to receive the necessary export
authorization for this.
● This
effort is part of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) LCA Mk2 programme.
MK2 Development:
● The
MK2 development received sanction from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)
in end-August 2022 at a total cost of ₹9,000 crore.
● DRDO
officials had stated that the Prototype is expected to roll out by 2024-25 and
be ready for production by 2027.
F414 Engines:
● F414
engines will power LCA-MK2 as well as the fifth
generation twin-engine Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)-MK1 which is
on the drawing board.
INDUS-X:
● During
Modi's visit, the India-United States
Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) was launched.
● The
event was co-organized by Innovations for Defence Excellence and the U.S.
Department of Defence and hosted by U.S.-India Business Council.
● The
event saw a first-of-its-kind joint showcasing by Indian and U.S. start-ups.
● 15
Indian start-ups and 10 U.S. start-ups, from multiple domains of maritime, AI,
autonomous systems, and space, showcased their technologies to Indian and U.S.
stakeholders.