Safran has offered full scope ToT for development of combat aircraft engines in India. The ToT will not come cheap and its projection as Kaveri improvement would be pure marketing hype. Safran is offering M88 technology. How much would India gain from the offer?
During a visit to India in May 2017, a team from Safran offered DRDO full scope transfer of technology for developing combat aircraft engines in India.
Safran, a Dassault partner, makes the Rafale's M88 engine and has reportedly proposed to invest Euro one billion as part of Rafale offset obligations to help India acquire the competence to develop combat aircraft engines.
The Safran proposal ostensibly involves building upon the work done by GTRE in developing the Kaveri engine with M88 technologies.
Speaking to the press in New Delhi on May 16, 2017, a Safran official proudly pointed out that in the past France had helped India attain technical competence to make rocket engines and light helicopter engines (See Box: Powering Indian Aerospace Competence). Now, France is ready to help India gain technical competence in developing combat aircraft engines.
The Safran offer is claimed to have been well received by the DRDO.
Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth?
The Safan offer isn't new - it was first made in 2009 but after making some headway ended up in a fizzle. Ironically, the offer was opposed by the Indian Air Force because it wanted a proven, in production, engine to power the LCA!
This story is from the June 2017 edition of Geopolitics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2017 edition of Geopolitics.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
India's space economy set to soar
India's burgeoning space economy could see a substantial increase in its global share by 2040. At present, India's space sector contributes a modest $8 billion to the overall cake. However, the government has set its sights on an ambitious target, aiming for a five-fold surge in India's share of the global space economy.
CRITICAL NEED TO BOOST CONVENTIONAL SUBMARINE FLEET
VENUGOPAL MENON explains why India cannot afford to view the critical deficiency in Submarine force levels lightly
BEEFING UP OUR SUBMARINE FLEET
In the last week of March, the Indian Navy displayed its submarine prowess. Eight of its submarines operated together in the Western Indian Ocean Region, a first in three decades, and one of its Scorpene submarines sailed to the Andaman Nicobar Islands, overlooking the Malacca Strait, a critical choke point for China. But how is the comparison with China? RITU SHARMA reports
ENHANCING CRUISE MISSILE CAPABILITY
India’s cruise missile capability has largely evolved as a credible conventional level deterrence since the turn of the new millennium. But much more needs to be done, writes AMARTYA SINHA
BOOSTING DEFENCE EXPORTS
Earlier, India was known to be an arms importer. But today, the country has come out of its comfort zone and found a place in the list of top-25 arms exporter nations argues AMARTYA SINHA
ENHANCING INDIA'S AIRBORNE SURVEILLANCE CAPABILITIES
Project NETRA represents a proactive initiative by ISRO to safeguard India's interests in space by mitigating the risks posed by space debris and other hazards, says GIRISH LINGANNA
THE HIMALAYAN TRIANGLE: WHY INDIA KEEPS BHUTAN SAFE FROM CHINA
India, given its special relationship with Bhutan, has been very wary about the possibility of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the signing of a boundary agreement between Bhutan and China, writes SIMRAN SODHI
TROOST, DESAI AND SANCTIONS
The Western sanctions against companies and individuals doing business with Russia have produced a complex set of reactions with lobbyists and shell companies working overtime to beat the rap. A GEOPOLITICS Bureau report
THE KOREA-GATE
India attaches great importance to “three principles of inclusiveness, trust and reciprocity’” for creating the basis for working more closely with like-minded partners in the Indo-Pacific such as the Republic of Korea (ROK), better known as South Korea for “a free, peaceful and prosperous region”. Prakash Nanda dissects the relationship and the way ahead
Pushpak RLV-TD successfully lands autonomously
ISRO achieved another significant milestone in reusable launch vehicle (RLV) technology with the successful landing of Pushpak (RLV-TD), the winged vehicle, autonomously on the runway.