*India, France in Talks to Manufacture Fighter Jet Engines Domestically*
*New Delhi:* India is moving closer to producing fighter jet engines withinthe country in collaboration with a French defence company, DefenceMinister Rajnath Singh announced on Friday.
Singh, addressing a defence conference in New Delhi, said the initiative isa major step in strengthening India’s self-reliance in the aerospacesector. “We are moving forward to manufacture aircraft engines in Indiaitself,” Singh said, in remarks carried by Indian media. “We arecollaborating with a French company to start engine production in India.”
While the minister did not disclose the partner, Indian media widelyreported it to be *Safran*, a French multinational with a long-standingpresence in India’s aviation and defence industry. However, there has beenno official confirmation so far.
The announcement comes just months after Singh approved the prototypedevelopment of the *Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA)*, India’s firstindigenous 5th-generation fighter jet program. The project is being hailedas a milestone in reducing dependence on foreign suppliers.
India, one of the world’s largest arms importers, has been pushingaggressively to expand local defence manufacturing. The government haspledged at least *$100 billion in domestic military contracts by 2033* toboost the “Make in India” initiative.
Read Top Stories
In April, New Delhi signed a multi-billion-dollar deal to acquire *26Rafale fighter jets* from France’s Dassault Aviation, adding to the 36Rafales already in service. These will replace the ageing Russian MiG-29Kfleet.
In recent years, India has unveiled a series of major defence achievements,including the commissioning of its first indigenous aircraft carrier, thelaunch of new warships and submarines, the opening of a helicoptermanufacturing facility, and a successful hypersonic missile test.
The defence build-up comes amid heightened regional tensions. India haslong faced security challenges from both Pakistan and China, and wasengaged in a four-day conflict with Pakistan in May — its most seriousstandoff since the Kargil war of 1999.