General Electric, HAL Sign MoU to Produce F414 Engines for India’s LCA MK2 Jet

Engine manufacturer GE Aerospace today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture its F414 engine in India that will power the 4.5 generation Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark II fighter jet program.

“The agreement includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India, and GE Aerospace continues to work with the U.S. government to receive the necessary export authorization for this. The effort is part of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) LCA Mk2 programme,” a statement from GE Aerospace said.

“Today’s agreement will advance GE Aerospace’s earlier commitment to build 99 engines for the IAF as part of the LCA Mk2 programme.”

The deal awaits approval of the U.S. Congress after which GE and HAL will initiate joint manufacture of the engine in India.

The F414 powers a variety of 4.5 generation aircraft including the Boeing F/A-18 which is being considered for India’s aircraft carrier-based fighter program, the South Korean KF-21 Boramae and the Saab Gripen.

The statement said that today’s MoU will enable GE to create a family of products in India, including the F404 engine that currently powers the LCA Mk1 and LCA Mk1A aircraft and GE Aerospace’s selection for the “prototype development, testing and certification of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme with our F414-INS6 engine.”

Besides, GE will continue to collaborate with Indian government on the AMCA Mk2 engine program, it stated.

The LCA-MK2  powered by the F414 engine, will be able to carry a larger payload than the current LCA MK1 which is equipped with the F404 engine.

H.Lawrence Culp, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE and CEO of GE Aerospace said, “Our F414 engines are unmatched and will offer important economic and national security benefits for both countries as we help our customers produce the highest quality engines to meet the needs of their military fleet.”

The LCA MK2 development received sanction from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in August 2022 and the prototype is expected to roll out by 2024-25 with production by 2027.