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Reliance Industries Limited and Rolls-Royce issued a joint statement on August 14 announcing their strategic intent to partner for the design, development, manufacturing and delivery of a sovereign indigenous combat engine for India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme. The companies will explore formation of a dedicated Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex in India to act as a centre of excellence for power and propulsion technology. This step aims to deliver end-to-end sovereign capability across design, development, manufacturing, testing, production and through-life support according to the announcement. The partnership brings together Rolls-Royce’s aero-engine technology with Reliance’s strengths in technology manufacturing and project execution.
Anant Ambani, executive director of Reliance Industries Limited, said in the statement, “India’s strategic autonomy requires sovereign capability in critical technologies.” He added, “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.” Ambani noted that together they aim to build an enduring national capability that can make India self-reliant and over time globally competitive in advanced propulsion technologies while describing it as a contribution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of an Atmanirbhar Viksit Bharat.
Tufan Erginbilgiç, CEO of Rolls-Royce, stated in the announcement, “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.” The release indicated that with existing partnerships and capabilities in India this marks a major milestone towards building a robust self-reliant aerospace ecosystem in the country. The proposed complex could support wider collaborations across defence civil aerospace and new power and propulsion technologies the statement added.
The announcement aligns with India’s long-term push for self-reliance in critical defence technologies under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative referenced throughout the release. The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme represents a flagship effort to develop a fifth-generation stealth multirole fighter for the Indian Air Force with the engine long identified as one of the most challenging components. Reliance Industries has expanded into defence production in recent years including military aerospace as part of broader national modernisation goals outlined in the joint statement.
According to the release Reliance Industries Limited is India’s largest private sector company with consolidated revenue of INR 11,75,919 crore for the year ended March 31 2026. The company ranks 85th on Fortune’s Global 500 list of the world’s largest companies for 2026 and 55th in the Forbes Global 2000 rankings the statement noted. Reliance activities span multiple sectors but its defence foray supports national priorities for domestic manufacturing capabilities.
Rolls-Royce reported annual underlying revenue of £20.1 billion in 2025 with underlying operating profit of £3.46 billion per the announcement. The company maintains a local presence in 47 countries and serves customers in more than 100 including armed forces and aerospace operators. The partnership announcement positions the British firm to contribute its defence propulsion expertise to India’s indigenous fighter development while advancing mutual goals in technology indigenisation.
