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One of the most important missing links in India's aerospace industry today is indigenous jet engines, particularly in the 50–1000 kgf thrust class. They are the centerpiece of air vehicles from tiny drones and loitering munitions to tactical UCAVs and even light planes. Without them, we are still at the mercy of foreign vendors — subject to export controls, supply-chain disruptions, and strategic coercion at the most inconvenient moments.
Creating such engines locally is not merely a matter of military independence. It's also about triggering an Indian industrial revolution: high-end metallurgy, additive manufacturing, turbine-quality alloys, high-precision machining, digital engine control, and intense test facilities. Each step creates capabilities that spill over into civilian aerospace, clean energy, and high-end manufacturing. From development to production, jet engines progress through digital design, material development, controls testing, and ground/flight validation into scaling into precision manufacturing, inspection, and certification. Interplay among labs, startups, and industry enables quicker, modular, and risk-reduced production
India's experience with the Kaveri engine program is testament to resilience
Why is this thrust range critical? Engines at ~50 kgf power small loitering drones and expendable aerial vehicles. At ~300–500 kgf, we're in the sweet spot for long-endurance cruise drones and UCAVs. And at ~1000 kgf, we power heavier unmanned systems with strike capability. This is the very class of propulsion that drives "launch-and-forget" UCAVs — platforms that can loiter, search, and strike with precision. The recent wars have demonstrated how transformative these can be; such as the IAI Harop loitering drones employed in Operation Sindoor has proven to penetrate and strike deep within the enemy's heartland.
The vision is unambiguous: to build an indigenous family of modular, scalable jet engines for both defense and civilian applications, so that India masters the skies and powers its own industrial development. Startups, MSMEs, R&D centers, and industry captains have to join forces on this mission.
If India is serious about being an aerospace power, propulsion mastery is not optional. This is the time to invest, construct, and innovate in the 50–1000 kgf class — and it's worth taking on.
Comments
What do you see as the biggest challenge—materials, testing, or certification?
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