India’s jets with India’s jet engines? Tough ask

If there’s one piece of tech every country’s desperate to get its hand on today, it is jet engines. Air power superiority at the core of strategic defence, countries that can master jet engine tech will be leagues ahead in the game.Last year, India inked a deal with US to jointly produce fighter jet engines for IAF. It includes transfer of tech, per the agreement between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and America’s GE, with plans to manufacture GE’s F414 INS6 engine in India.But, it’s uncertain when India will develop an indigenous jet engine. Here’s decoding why cracking jet engine tech remains one of the most challenging engineering feats.Why is making a jet engine, engineering’s holy grail?For one, it demands multiple engineering disciplines, from metallurgy to ‘finite element’ mechanical simulations. Basics of designing modern jet engines remain similar to the very first turbo jet engine, patented in 1930 by British pilot Frank Whittle – comprising the compressor, combustion chamber, turbine and nozzle.But, the modern version is all about getting a billion small things right.Performance of jet engines depends on trade-off between operational requirements, and the high thermal and mechanical loads placed on engine parts. In other words, the more powerful an engine, greater should be its ability to endure stress and heat.What’s the secret sauce?For starters, even before a prototype is ready to be built, tonnes of mechanical simulations are needed for different parts of the engine, such as turbine, castings, pipes and intakes. Add to that, simulations for fluid dynamics and heat transfer. Components need relevant supply chains and foundries to be set up. Since components must withstand extreme heat and pressure, materials science specialists will be involved in casting blades and other parts. Modern engine fan blades are made from a single piece of titanium alloy. Nickel-based alloys are used for compressor blades.The combustion chamber and turbine blades (the engine’s hot part) need advanced ceramic thermal coatings. This, reportedly, is part of the transfer of tech for GE’s F414 engine.How much time & funds are needed to build a jet engine?A lot. The process can consume billions of dollars and stretch over decades. Given complexities, it’s unlikely to get it right at first shot. So, it’s the full process all over again. That’s more time, money and resources. Reason why only a handful – US, UK, Russia and France – can independently produce their own jet engines.China’s trying to reverse engineer Russian engines for years. It produced a Russian-derived variant called WS-10. South Korea last year started the research to develop a fighter jet engine by late 2030s. Even hi-tech Japan is trying to master high-pressure, high-temperature engine components such as combustors, compressors and turbines.What will it take for India to be in this elite club?India did have its own Kaveri engine development project. But it failed to meet the technical requirements for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. The latter run on GE’s F404 engines. That’s the other thing about jet engine research – you can invest billions, but it may end up not meeting benchmarks.Costs and losses are part and parcel of the drill. Without the appetite to take these risks, engine manufacturing simply won’t be possible.India hopes to use the GE F414 engine for the planned Tejas Mk2, as well as for initial batches of the future Advanced Multirole Combat Aircraft (AMCA).What’s India’s jet engine flight path?Experts agree India has a very long way to go to wholly develop and produce its own jet engine. Tech transfer from GE will help set up particular lines of production, but core engine tech and source codes may not be as forthcoming. The best option is to create an aviation ecosystem that organically leads to engine development.Opportunity exists in the huge demand for commercial aviation in India. Last year, aviation consultancy firm CAPA India said Indian airlines are expected to place orders for 1,500-1,700 aircraft till 2025.Setting up a commercial aviation manufacturing ecosystem over the next two decades could pool in R&D, technical knowledge and engineering quality. Govt would need to frontload such a policy, given massive financial costs and gambles are involved. Treating jet engines as key strategic defence tech is only the first step.