India’s drive to build its own stealth fighter just turned into an engine contest between two of Europe’s biggest names. On June 4, 2026, Rolls-Royce offered to co-develop a clean-sheet fighter engine of roughly 110 kilonewtons of thrust in India — with full intellectual-property transfer — for the heavier Mk2 version of India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
Rolls-Royce is targeting ground trials around 2032 and a first flight near 2034. It goes head-to-head with France’s Safran, which has pitched an engine derived from its M88 in a joint program with India’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE).
Why a New Engine Matters
Engines are the single hardest part of a modern fighter to build, and the one area where India has leaned most heavily on foreign suppliers. The American GE F414 already covers the AMCA Mk1 and the Tejas Mk2, but a domestically built, IP-owned high-thrust engine would free India from that dependence for its most advanced jets.
A Bigger Prize Than One Contract
Whichever firm wins does more than sell hardware — it helps stand up an entire Indian fighter-engine industry, with all the technology transfer and decades of follow-on work that implies. For Rolls-Royce and Safran alike, the AMCA Mk2 engine is a foothold in one of the world’s fastest-growing defence markets.