Rolls-Royce and Indian Air Force – A Long-standing Partnership
In its 83-year-long history, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has played a range of roles – from being the guardians of our skies to providing support to relief and humanitarian efforts when and where required. The resourcefulness and perseverance of the Indian
A LONG-STANDING PARTNERSHIP
We are proud of the long-standing relationship with India which stretches back to the time Rolls-Royce powered the first flight of the Indian Air Force. Today, more than 750 Rolls-Royce engines of 10 engine types are powering aircraft of the Indian military. Our engines power a wide variety of aircraft in the inventory of the Indian Air Force – from combat and strike aircraft to trainers to strategic airlift aircraft and even VVIP and surveillance aircraft.
Rolls-Royce provides the highest possible levels of support to the Adour Mk871, which powers the Hawks Advanced Jet Trainer, on which the next-generation of our airborne guardians are trained. Our field service representatives (FSRs) work in close support with IAF personnel to maximise the availability of engines on wings and provide onground technical advice directly to our customers, thereby drastically reducing maintenance and overhaul times.
BUILDING AN AEROSPACE ECOSYSTEM
Rolls-Royce and HAL have been associated with each other for over 60 years, one of the longest partnerships in defence aerospace history. The partnership which began with the licensed production of Orpheus engines for the Kiran aircraft has since progressed to the co-production of the Adour family of engines. The Adour Mk871 engine, which powers the Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer, is the latest in a long line of engines licence produced by HAL. Our IAMPL facility in Bengaluru is another testimony to our long-standing partnership with HAL.
We nurture a cooperative and fruitful association with other partners and we are planning to further expand our capabilities in India with our local partners here by continuing to provide them with our powerful portfolio of products and services and the right combination of experience and advanced technologies.
PARTNERING FOR FUTURE SUCCESSES
Looking at the future we will continue to support today’s fleets, including those that have been in service for many years. Our global experience and best practices that stem from supporting 160 armed forces in 106 countries gives us a unique opportunity to better support the Indian armed forces.
As the Indian Air Force undergoes its modernisation programmes, we are committed to provide the best value, and highest quality of world-leading products and solutions. Several of the potential platforms that are currently under consideration are powered by Rolls-Royce and an expansion of our in-service fleet in India also brings opportunities to discuss our services offerings which are proven globally to deliver additional capability at reduced cost to the customer. Also, we remain committed to delivering India’s vision to achieve self-reliance and become a global centre for aerospace design, development and manufacturing.
With a growing engineering footprint in India, we are looking towards establishing a robust ecosystem that will engage in co-creation across the entire value chain – from research, design and development to manufacturing, integration, maintenance and repair. For India, it would mean a further impetus to the ‘Make in India’ initiative, a great opportunity to strengthen its R&D prowess, access to advanced technologies and products and ultimately build a robust indigenous aerospace and defence industrial base.
We are looking at a number of different programmes in India and will continue to realise the country’s growth vision and efforts to indigenisation and reaching self-reliance. We look forward to continued commitment towards the Indian region and work more closely with our stakeholders across businesses to enable them benefit from our innovative products and technologies.