By Ajai Shukla
Reliance Industries and Rolls-Royce have announced they will join hands to co-develop a combat aircraft jet engine that will power India's indigenous, fifth-generation, stealth fighter – which has been named the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
In a joint press release on Friday, August 14, 2026, Reliance and Rolls-Royce announced “their strategic intent to partner and offer capabilities for the design, development, manufacturing and delivery of a sovereign indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.”
The development of the AMCA is being led by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the technology development wing of the Indian government’s Ministry of Defence (MoD). A major DRDO laboratory, the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), works on developing diesel and gas turbine engines, such as the Kaveri engine, for indigenous defence platforms.
The joint announcement further said: “As part of the partnership, Reliance and Rolls-Royce will explore the formation of a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex that will be a centre of excellence for power and propulsion technology in India.”
According to Reliance and Rolls-Royce, “the partnership will offer a compelling proposition for joint development of the AMCA engine in India, bringing together world-leading technology and industrial execution capabilities.”
Invoking New Delhi’s emphasis on the indigenisation of major defence platforms and systems, the joint announcement stated: “This marks a step towards realising the vision set out by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, for India’s defence ecosystem to deliver an indigenous engine to power the country’s fighter jet programme.”
Anant Ambani, Reliance Industries’ Executive Director stated: "India’s strategic autonomy requires sovereign capability in critical technologies. Our intent with Rolls-Royce is to combine their world-leading expertise in advanced propulsion with Reliance’s technology,
manufacturing, scale and execution capabilities to build an indigenous aero-engine ecosystem in India.”
“Together, we aim to build an enduring national capability that can make India self-reliant and, over time, globally competitive in advanced propulsion technologies. This is our contribution to… Modi’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Viksit Bharat."
Rolls-Royce chief Tufan Erginbilgiç said: "I welcome the opportunity to join forces with Reliance Industries, bringing together our century-long heritage in advanced engineering and proven engine expertise with their homegrown leadership in Indian industry.”
“This will also unlock opportunities to explore wider collaborations across defence, civil aerospace, and new power and propulsion systems,” the joint statement said.
About Reliance Industries Limited:
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is India’s largest private sector company, with a consolidated
revenue of INR 11,75,919 crore (US$ 124.0 billion), cash profit of INR 1,71,258 crore (US$ 18.1 billion) and net profit of INR 95,754 crore (US$ 10.1 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2026.
Reliance’s activities span hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, advanced materials and composites, renewables (solar and hydrogen), retail, digital services and media and entertainment.
Currently ranked 85th, Reliance is the largest Indian private sector company to feature in
Fortune’s Global 500 list of 'World’s Largest Companies' for 2026. The company stands 55th in the Forbes Global 2000 rankings of 'World’s Largest Public Companies' for 2026, the highest among Indian companies.
Reliance has featured in Time's list of the 100 Most Influential Companies of 2024, making it the only Indian company to have achieved this honour twice. Website: www.ril.com
About Rolls-Royce Holdings plc
Rolls-Royce is a force for progress; powering, protecting and connecting people everywhere. Our products and service packages help our customers meet the growing need for power across multiple industries; enable governments to equip their armed forces with the power required to protect their citizens; and connect people, societies, cultures and economies.
Rolls-Royce has a local presence in 47 countries and customers in over a hundred more,
including airlines and aircraft leasing companies, armed forces and navies, and marine and
industrial customers.
Rolls-Royce’s annual underlying revenue was £20.1 billion in 2025, and underlying operating profit was £3.46 billion.
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