Rolls-Royce is celebrating 80th anniversary of its partnership with Indian Air Force in 2013

RRolls-Royce is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its partnership with the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2013. The Group started its long and distinguished association with the Indian aerospace sector in 1932 with its Gypsy engines on the first Tata Aviation aircraft. A year later, the Indian Air Force took to the skies aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce Bristol Jupiter engines.

Since those pioneering days, Rolls-Royce has powered many famous aircraft in the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy colours. Currently, the Jaguar fleet is powered by Adour Mk811 engines while Adour Mk871 engines power the Hawk advanced jet trainer which trains India’s future pilots.

AE3007 engines entered service in 2005 with Embraer jets and operate on VVIP and surveillance missions. The Rolls-Royce AE2100 engines that power C-130J Hercules tactical transport aircraft are the latest example of Rolls-Royce powering the Indian armed forces to even greater levels of mission performance.

However, our activity in India has expanded far beyond the supply of engines. Rolls-Royce has played a key role in the development of India’s indigenous aerospace industry, largely through our partnership with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru, which is now in its 57th year. Adour engines for the new fleet of Hawk trainers are the latest to roll off the HAL production line.

Most recently, we completed construction on a new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru for our International Aerospace Manufacturing Private Limited (IAMPL) joint venture with HAL, which will produce important components for the Trent family of civil engines.

Rolls-Royce can offer India a unique combination of experience and innovation that can help to improve the capability of our customers. We have a broad-based portfolio of engines that means that we are able to offer power solutions for the new tanker programme, additional trainer and transport aircraft and amphibious patrol aircraft – such as the ShinMaywa US-2, powered by the Rolls-Royce AE2100.

In terms of new engine sales, we are hopeful that the requirements for additional AE2100-powered C-130J aircraft and Adour-powered Hawks will be confirmed shortly. The AE2100 engine is also the power plant for the C-27J aircraft which is also under consideration by the IAF, and would offer significant commonality benefits if selected alongside the C-130J fleet.

For the tanker programme, the Trent 700 offers real performance benefits for the A330 tanker aircraft selected for the Indian Air Force. It delivers unrivalled operational benefits in the “hot and high” conditions that are part of normal operational requirements in India and is proven to offer significant reductions in life-cycle cost for the IAF mission requirements.

We are also looking to work more closely with the Indian armed forces to enable them to benefit from some of the innovative support techniques that have been proven in other areas of our business, such as marine and civil and which are now being widely adopted by military customers looking to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of their fleets. This is equally relevant both for new engines as they enter service and also for existing products in service.

Innovation is part of our DNA at Rolls-Royce. We invest nearly £1 billion per year on research and technology and we are uniquely placed to leverage that technology across our four business units. That means that our defence customers in India can benefit from engine and services technologies developed in our civil, marine and energy businesses.

We will continue to combine technology, our unique experience of the Indian market and new local partnerships to deliver further improvements in capability and affordability for our Indian customers.