General Electric Signs MoU With HAL To Manufacture GE F-414 Jet Engines In India, To Power Tejas Mk-2 Fighter Aircraft

General Electric (GE) on Thursday (22 June) announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), to manufacture fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.

The announcement comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on an official state visit to the United States. According to GE, the MoU includes the possibility of jointly producing GE Aerospace’s F-414 engines in India.

Hindustan Aeronautics had earlier stated that it intended to use the engine to power the in-development Tejas Mk-2 fighter jet and was in discussions regarding domestic production of the engines.

According to reports, the US government has allowed the joint production of the GE F-414 engines to India, and is willing to transfer about 80 per cent of technology of the jet engine to India.

The transfer of technology will encompass several crucial aspects of GE jet engines.

These include special coating for erosion and corrosion, repair technology for turbines, compression disc and blades, coating and machining of single crystal turbine blades, machining and coating of hot end parts, complete tech transfer for blisk machining, machining of powder metallurgy, polymer matrix composite, laser drilling for combustion, and bottle boring of shafts.

The US has not shared engine technology to this extent with any other nation. A source familiar with the deal stated, "This level of technology transfer has not been given by the US, the UK, and France to any country."