Commenting on the IAF’s selection of the European MRTT as the preferred option for its futuristic flight refuelling aircraft programme, Gay was hopeful that the IAF would select as its power plants the Rolls-Royce Trent 772B engines

“India continues to be the cornerstone of Rolls-Royce global business,” emphasised John Gay, Rolls-Royce’s Senior Vice President South Asia-Defence at the press conference in New Delhi on November 22. The conference was organised to introduce Jane Terry, Director Communications-Defence, who had flown in from Rolls-Royce Plc’ Bristol headquarters in the UK to visit India for the first time, and Nick Britton, External Communications Manager-Defence, who has been assigned to undertake communications responsibilities in India.

During the informal tête-à-tête, John Gay retraced the historic ties by reiterating how Rolls-Royce has been a strategic partner to India’s armed forces since 1933, powering a large inventory of military aircraft which have been part of the Indian Air Force (IAF) fleets. The good-old Tiger Moth was powered by the Havilland Gipsy piston engine, which in the 1960s became part of Rolls-Royce Limited. In more recent times, the Jaguar has flown with the Adour Mk811 since 1981. The Adour Mk871, since 2008, has been powering the new Hawk advanced jet trainer and these aircraft are being used to train the next-generation Indian pilots. An order for additional 57 Hawks was signed last year, 17 of which will be used by the Indian Navy.

Other Rolls-Royce engines in service with the Indian armed forces include the Viper, Dart, Pegasus, Adour, Model 250 and Gnome H1400 on aircraft like the Kiran, Avro748, Sea Harrier, Jaguar, Britten Norman Islander and the Sea King helicopter. The AE 3007 engines power the Embraer Legacy jets with the IAF and the Border Security Force (BSF), specified for VVIPs and surveillance duties. The latest entrant in IAF inventory is the C-130J Hercules transport aircraft powered by Rolls-Royce AE 2100 engines. He was upbeat on IAF pursuing to add six more C-130Js to form a full-fledged squadron at Hindon airbase stating it would further deepen the Rolls-Royce’s engagement with the IAF in the arena of turboprop engines.

Gay also spoke about the MissionCare agreements in place for the AE2100 and AE3007 engines, and said that the company’s service solutions are now extending beyond propulsion system into engine capability provision and platform management.

Answering a question with regard to MissionCare agreements, John Gay explained that in a traditional relationship, the operator flies and if something breaks, we repair it for them. But in case of MissionCare, it is a contract for availability. Rolls-Royce provides the contractual route to maintenance. It offers a number of benefits. It allows the operator to focus on what they are doing, i.e. just flying their aircraft. It suits the operators’ requirements. It gives them advantages as an operator and deliver mission requirements and does not compromise on the delivery of service. The aim is to complement the operator. “It puts us closer to the operations and supports customers in keeping their machines in service,” he said. The C-130J’s case is a shining example of this agreement with the IAF’s Super Hercules squadron enjoying the best serviceability status among its transport fleets.

Speaking on the Indo-Rolls-Royce cooperation front, Gay mentioned that a major milestone achievement has been the construction of a new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru to produce components for the Rolls-Royce Trent family of civil aero engines. The state-of-the-art facility is owned by the International Aerospace Manufacturing Private Limited (IAMPL), a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and HAL, formed in 2010. IAMPL has been established to incorporate the latest Rolls-Royce manufacturing techniques and it is being developed as a Centre of Excellence with worldwide use of its products.

In India, Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines power Airbus A330 aircraft for Jet Airways, operating on their long-haul sector. Blue Dart operates dedicated cargo services with RB211-powered B757 aircraft. In the domestic sector, there are more than 120 V2500-powered Airbus A320 family of aircraft with Kingfisher Airlines, IndiGo and Air India. Additional V2500 engines are on order.