NEW DELHI: India has announced a collaboration with a French company to develop and manufacture fighter jet engines within the country.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh confirmed the partnership during a speech at a conference in New Delhi on Friday.
“We are moving forward to manufacture aircraft engines in India itself,“ Singh stated in comments broadcast by Indian media.
“We are collaborating with a French company to start engine production in India.”
Although Singh did not name the specific company, Indian media widely reported it to be Safran, which has operated in India for decades within the aviation and defence sectors.
This development follows Singh’s approval in May of the prototype for a fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, which he described as a significant push towards enhancing India’s indigenous defence capabilities.
India remains one of the world’s largest arms importers but has prioritised modernising its forces and boosting local arms production.
The nation has significantly deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including through the Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia.
India signed a multi-billion-dollar deal in April to purchase 26 Rafale fighter jets from France’s Dassault Aviation, which will join 36 Rafale fighters already acquired and replace Russian MiG-29K jets.
Singh has promised at least 100 billion dollars in fresh domestic military hardware contracts by 2033 to spur local arms production.
India has opened a new helicopter factory, launched its first domestically made aircraft carrier, warships and submarines, and conducted a successful long-range hypersonic missile test this decade.
New Delhi maintains security concerns regarding multiple nations, particularly Pakistan, with whom India engaged in a four-day conflict in May representing their worst standoff since 1999. – AFP
