NEW DELHI: State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will raise production of AL-31FP engines for the IAF's Su-30MKI fleet from 30 to 50 a year and set up a second production line for the Shakti helicopter engine, the government announced on Tuesday, as HAL's Koraput division crossed the 2,000-engine mark.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who witnessed the milestone in Odisha, announced that HAL will set up the second Shakti production line at Koraput at a cost of Rs 218 crore. The line will have the capacity to produce up to 100 engines annually once fully established by 2028-29.
The Shakti engine, co-developed with French firm Safran, powers the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter, its armed Rudra variant and the Prachand Light Combat Helicopter.
This expansion comes as the armed forces prepare to induct 156 Prachands, with 66 going to the IAF and 90 to the Army. The helicopters were ordered from HAL under contracts worth Rs 62,700 crore in March 2025. Each Prachand is powered by two Shakti engines.
Meanwhile, the annual production of AL-31FP engines will be raised with an investment of Rs 335 crore.
MoD had inked a contract worth over Rs 26,000 crore with HAL in September 2024 for 240 AL-31FP engines for the Su-30MKI fleet. HAL has delivered 63 engines so far, against a target of 60 by the end of the second year.
The Koraput division has manufactured engines for several generations of IAF fighters, including the MiG-21, MiG-27, MiG-29 and Su-30MKI. It has also overhauled more than 9,000 engines.
Terming aero-engine as the “heart” of an aircraft, the defence minister in his address said that mastery of propulsion technology was essential for self-reliance in aerospace and defence. He said this capability must extend to the homegrown flagship fifth-gen Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
Singh referred to a proposed investment of around Rs 5,000 crore in the indigenous high-thrust engine programme. The effort includes setting up India’s first indigenous high-thrust engine testing facility and indigenising critical raw materials with Mishra Dhatu Nigam.
The propulsion challenge remains particularly stark in India’s fighter programme. The DRDO-developed Kaveri engine did not meet the thrust requirement for the Tejas, leaving the fighter dependent on GE’s F404 engine. Delays in F404 deliveries have also held up Tejas Mk-1A production, with HAL receiving only 10 engines as of now.
Separately, DRDO’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) has proposed co-developing a 120kN-class engine with French firm Safran for the AMCA. The proposal, worth nearly Rs. 60,000 crore, awaits final clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which is chaired by PM Modi.
