GE Receives $100+M Order for Tejas Fighter Engines

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Back in February 2006, “India: LCA Tejas by 2010 – But Foreign Help Sought With Engine” described the state of India’s indigenous Tejas Light Combat aircraft, and its accompanying “Kaveri” engine. The Kaveri remains very much a work in progress, however, and so Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) bought 8 of GE’s F404-F2J3 engines for development purposes. This was followed by a 2004 order for 17 of GE’s more advanced F404-IN20 afterburning engines generating up to 19,000 pounds (85kN) thrust, to be used in operational production aircraft and naval prototypes. Now an order “in excess of $100 million” has been placed for 24 F404-GE-IN20 engines to power the first operational squadron of Tejas fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force.

Based on the F404-GE-402, the F404-GE-IN20 is the highest rated F404 model and includes a higher-flow fan, increased thrust, a Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) system, single-crystal turbine blades and a variety of single-engine features. The F404 engine family remains one of the most successful fighter engines of modern times, and over 4,000 of them power combat aircraft and UCAVs for a number of countries worldwide. See GE release.