In a much-watched engine competition in India, the country’s Aeronautical Development Agency selected GE Aviation to power their new light combat jet fighter. Ninety-nine of GE’s F414 afterburning engines and kits have been ordered to power the Mk II version of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
 Local hero: India’s locally-developed jet fighter, which replaces their aging MiG-21 fleet, is the world’s smallest, light weight, multi-role combat aircraft. |
As India’s Business Standard notes in its coverage, the F414 was directly competing against Eurojet’s EJ-200. And as the The Times of India reports, while the initial order is for 99 engines, an option for 49 more could be exercised later. Both papers note that the GE Aviation win leaves the engine team well-positioned to compete for the next big program in the Indian Air Force, which is a fleet of more than 100 medium fighters.
With more than one million flight-hours on jets such as the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, the F414 engine continues to exceed the U.S. Navy’s goals for reliability and time on wing. To date, more than 1,000 F414 engines have been delivered, supporting more than 415 aircraft in the fleet. GE has also been working with the Navy on a Super Hornet engine, dubbed “the green hornet,” that runs on biofuels.
 High marks: The F414-GE-INS6, which is the model selected in the deal, is the highest-rated F414 model. This selection follows earlier orders of 24 F404 engines in 2007, plus an initial 2004 purchase of 17 F404 engines to power a limited series of operational production aircraft and naval prototypes. |
* Read coverage of the deal in MarketWatch, livemint.com, Hindustan Times,
* Learn more about GE Aviation
* Read more Aviation stories on GE Reports
* Learn more about GE’s fuel work with the Navy
* Learn more about GE’s F414 engine
