Rolls-Royce has been associated with the IAF since the beginning. We powered the first flight of the IAF in 1932. Since then, we have further built and strengthened our relationship to turn it into one that will stretch far into the future.

Today, more than 750 Rolls-Royce engines of 10 engine types are powering aircraft of the Indian military. Our engines power a wide variety of aircraft in the inventory of the IAF – from combat and strike aircraft (the Jaguar, powered by the Adour Mk811) to trainers (Hawk Advanced Jet Trainer, powered by Adour Mk871) to strategic airlift aircraft (C-130J Hercules, powered by AE 2100) and even VVIP and Surveillance aircraft (ERJ145, powered by AE 3007).

In addition to this, our field service representatives (FSRs) work in close support with the IAF personnel to maximise the availability of engines on wings and provide on-ground technical advice directly to our customers, thereby drastically reducing maintenance and overhaul times. Today, Rolls-Royce engines with class-leading fuel efficiency and reliability enable military aircraft to stay on mission for longer. Our MissionCare® programmes have been proven to maximise the number of engines available to fly while also significantly reducing the cost of support.

How has Rolls-Royce’s footprint grown in the India region?

Our relationship with India goes back more than 85 years. Today, we’re building our capabilities across engineering, manufacturing, digital and supply chain, all of which lead to an enrichment of India’s industrial ecosystem. We are also playing an important role in furthering the skill development and building a strong base of local talent pool. Our belief in India’s skilled talent led to the set-up of Engineering Centres in Bengaluru and Pune. Both these engineering centres enable us to embrace opportunities to co-design, co-develop and co-manufacture with right local strategic partners.

In 2017, we set up a digital hub – R² Data Labs, in Bengaluru, in partnership with TCS, to leverage the digital workforce available in the country. This will enable us to use data to innovate within all of our businesses and collaborate more effectively with partners and customers. We are also growing our supply chain capabilities in the region to get into more complex commodities. We expanded our partnership with Godrej & Boyce for manufacturing products like Unison Rings, Complex Fabrication and external brackets commodities. Through our partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics (IAMPL), we already manufacture a wide range of components for our aero engines flying around the world. Our Power Systems business recently announced a JV with Force Motors to manufacture Series 1600 engines at a dedicated state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Chakan near Pune.