Advanced Power :
Eurojet makes the case for AMCA
As development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme progresses, selecting a suitable engine for the type becomes a more pressing concern. The AMCA programme, while still relatively early in its design and development phase, is believed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to hold immense potential to replace a wide range of IAF aircraft, while simultaneously increasing the Air Force’s capabilities as the aircraft will be a generation ahead of what the IAF currently fields, or is considering, for its requirements ( see Vayu V/2015 for a detailed report on the AMCA programme).
Certainly, a decision on an aero engine must be taken well before the prototype stage, and while there have been recent pronouncements from various industry players pledging support to the programme and offering to co-develop existing engines in India, there is little clarity from either the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) or from the eventual user of the type, the Indian Air Force, on what the capability priorities are for the AMCA. It is important to establish a matrix of priorities during the development stage to avoid creating an impossible ‘wish list’ of demands that will inevitably cause problems down the road. An added benefit of this approach is that it allows an early forecast of available technologies and their maturity levels, significantly de-risking development, particularly if there is good communication between the user and developer.
The greatest technology risk, and arguably the Achilles’ heel of the Indian aerospace industry at large, is that of turbine engines. It is clear therefore, that this aspect of the AMCA will require definition at the earliest, to avoid letting a single issue derail programme schedules and budgets, as was the case with the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and its Kaveri engine. From various public pronouncements by ADA, IAF and MoD officials, the AMCA will not be developed alongside a new engine, so clearly lessons have already been learned and applied. Whatever ADA’s decision, it will be made in consultation with the Government (i.e. the MoD) and the user, and it will In a comprehensive presentation during the 2015 Subroto Mukerjee Seminar organised by the Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS) Eurojet’s Wolfgang Sterr outlined key modern and futuristic technologies for combat jet engines. The talk covered the demanding requirements to be met by current and future engines, the challenges in design and engineering as well as a plethora of development paths ahead, not limited only to Eurojet, but looking at work taking place around the world.
Different missions in different flight operation regimes put differing demands on engines. High-altitude reconnaissance is carried out very differently from low-level strike and both are far removed from the rigours of air-to-air combat. In the past this was rarely an issue, as aircraft were typically tailored for a narrow set of requirements,