Britain, Italy, and Japan have teamed up to develop a sixth-generation fighter jet, and their efforts to entice India to join the programme have taken an intriguing turn. As part of the agreement, these countries would provide India access to a new jet engine that will power India’s fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme. India’s inclusion in the programme is aggressively pursued, and negotiations are underway to secure India’s participation.
India Shall Provide Hands in Developing BAE Tempest
Last July, the United Kingdom announced plans for the Tempest project’s first demonstrator aircraft to fly within the next five years. This aggressive timetable seeks to eventually replace the existing Typhoon fighter, which is also produced by BAE Systems. The Tempest fighter plane, which is outfitted with modern communications technology, is planned to collaborate with networked drones.
Also read: Exploring The Future Of Air Combat: BAE Tempest
Rolls-Royce, the renowned jet engine company behind the Tempest fighter jet’s engines, has also offered to co-develop a new engine exclusively for India’s AMCA programme. Instead of employing the existing EJ-200 engine, this agreement will offer India intellectual property rights and ensure a tailor-made engine. A UK delegation comprised of senior officials from the Ministry of Defence and top executives from BAE Systems visited New Delhi in 2019 to issue an invitation to the Indian Air Force (IAF) to join in the co-development of the Tempest, a sixth-generation aircraft.
During the visit, Nik Khanna, Head of BAE Systems India, stated his company’s desire to find international partners, notably software developers, because India has substantial experience in that field. However, India did not join the programme then, and there was no further discussion regarding the Tempest plan. The UK government now appears to be very driven to obtain India’s participation in the Tempest programme. According to sources, India may contribute to the development of the software for the Tempest fighter jet.
However, close sources suggest that India will focus only on the development of its 5th Generation AMCA programme and that India will be unlikely to join the Tempest programme, preferring instead to co-develop a new engine with either Safran or Rolls-Royce.
To crack the SSB Interview, You can join our SSB interview live classes batch and we recommend you to Enroll SSB INTERVIEW ONLINE COURSE. Trusted by thousands of defence aspirants.
Also read:
- Why Indian Air Force Planes Are GREY?
- Indian Navy Requires 100 Indigenously Made Deck-Based Fighters
- Unfolding Turkey’s Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft- TAI TF-X
- Stealth Is Power: Turkey Unfolds New Deep-Strike Drone ANKA-3
- Everything You Need To Know About LCA Tejas
- All About India’s 5th Generation Fighter Jet ‘AMCA’
- How HAL Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) Is Going To Help Indian Air Force?
- All Fighter Aircraft Of India – How To Identify Them
- All Fighter Jet Acquisitions By The IAF
- Know The Difference Between IAF’s Rafale And Rafale-M Of Indian Navy
- CATS Warrior 2: IAF’s Future Unmanned Fighter-Bomber Aircraft
