Reliance Industries Limited and Rolls-Royce on Friday announced their strategic intent to partner on the design, development, manufacturing and delivery of a sovereign indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.

In a statement, Reliance Industries Limited and Rolls-Royce said, “As part of the partnership, Reliance Industries Limited and Rolls-Royce will explore setting up a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex in India that will serve as a centre of excellence for power and propulsion technology.”

The partnership aims to combine Rolls-Royce’s technology and expertise in advanced propulsion with Reliance’s industrial and manufacturing capabilities to support the joint development of the AMCA engine in India.

Anant Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Industries Limited, said, "India’s strategic autonomy requires sovereign capability in critical technologies. Our intent with Rolls-Royce is to combine their world-leading expertise in advanced propulsion with Reliance’s technology, manufacturing, scale and execution capabilities to build an indigenous aero-engine ecosystem in India. Together, we aim to build an enduring national capability that can make India self-reliant and, over time, globally competitive in advanced propulsion technologies. This is our contribution to the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Viksit Bharat."

Tufan Erginbilgiç, CEO, Rolls-Royce plc, said, "I welcome the opportunity to join forces with Reliance Industries, bringing together our century-long heritage in advanced engineering and proven engine expertise with their homegrown leadership in Indian industry. Together, with our existing partnerships and capabilities in India, this marks a major milestone towards building a robust, self-reliant aerospace ecosystem in the country."

In a statement, Reliance Industries Limited and Rolls-Royce said, “The proposed Aero Gas Turbine Complex will seek to create sovereign, end-to-end Indian capabilities across the design, development, manufacturing, testing, production and through-life support of aero engines by combining Rolls-Royce’s global engine expertise with Reliance’s industrial strengths.”

"The partnership will also unlock opportunities to explore wider collaborations across defence, civil aerospace, and new power and propulsion systems," the statement further added.