India’s Reliance Industries and Britain’s Rolls-Royce announced on Friday plans to jointly design and manufacture engines for New Delhi’s multirole indigenous fighter jet programme, marking one of the most significant Reliance Rolls-Royce fighter jet engines announcements in India’s defence sector to date. The partnership is aimed at supporting the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft, the country’s flagship fifth-generation stealth fighter project.
Reliance Rolls-Royce Fighter Jet Engines Partnership Targets Self-Reliance
Reliance Industries Limited, India’s largest private sector company, has been expanding into defence production in military aerospace and advanced munitions to support Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Make in India” initiative. The Reliance Rolls-Royce fighter jet engines venture is expected to reinforce that push, as India, one of the world’s largest arms importers, continues to prioritise the modernisation of its defence forces through repeated efforts to boost domestic production.
Rolls-Royce builds engines for commercial use by the world’s biggest aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, as well as for fighter jets. The two industry giants issued a joint statement announcing “their strategic intent to partner and offer capabilities for the design, development, manufacturing and delivery of a sovereign indigenous combat engine” for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme. The statement did not disclose the scale of investment the two companies will make for the partnership.
Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft Programme Gains Momentum
The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft is India’s flagship fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter jet, developed locally for its air force. The Reliance Rolls-Royce fighter jet engines agreement “marks a major milestone towards building a robust, self-reliant aerospace ecosystem in the country,” Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Tufan Erginbilgic said in the joint statement. Reliance Executive Director Anant Ambani said the two companies aim to “build an enduring national capability that can make India self-reliant and, over time, globally competitive in advanced propulsion technologies.”
India’s Broader Defence Modernisation Push
Under Modi, India has prioritised modernisation of its military “driven by a self-reliant and future-ready defence sector,” Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told soldiers on Friday, on the eve of the country’s 80th independence day. Last month, India approved the purchase of a range of military equipment worth $5.46 billion, including missiles, electronic warfare systems and kamikaze drones.
New Delhi has, over the last decade, sought to reduce its dependence on Russia, its traditional main supplier of military equipment, turning instead to countries such as the United States and France while boosting domestic production. India is also rapidly modernising its navy through domestic production of ships and submarines. A four-day conflict with Pakistan last year highlighted the need for New Delhi to upgrade its defence capabilities further. Earlier this year, India approved the purchase of $39 billion worth of defence equipment, including Rafale jets from France, with the country’s current defence budget standing at $85 billion.
A Step Toward Indigenous Combat Engine Capability
The Reliance Rolls-Royce fighter jet engines partnership represents a notable step in India’s long-standing effort to develop indigenous propulsion technology for combat aircraft, an area where the country has historically relied heavily on foreign suppliers. With the scale of investment still undisclosed, the coming months are likely to clarify how quickly this partnership can translate into tangible progress for the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme.
Published in SouthAsianDesk, August 16th, 2026
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