Indian Air Force Panel to suggest powerful engine for Jaguar

The Indian Air Force has set up a committee to indicate which new engine will be suited to power India’s frontline but overweight and underpowered Jaguar tactical light strike fighter. The new, lighter, high performance engine will allow the IAF to improve the Jaguar’s mission performance, especially in medium and high level sortie profiles, undertake missions which are not possible with the existing engine, reduce pilot workload and cut maintenance cost. Headed by K.V.L. Rao, an aero engine expert and former project director (propulsion systems) with the Aeronautical Development Agency, the committee has been tasked with choosing between proposals from Honeywell and Rolls Royce, both of which have replied to the request for proposal that was sent out as part of the programme for new engines for Jaguar. The multi-billion dollar programme will see an acquisition of 280 engines, including spare engines for around 120 aircraft. The committee is expected to submit its findings before the end of June.While Honeywell is offering its F125N, a 43.8 kilo Newton (kN) thrust engine, Rolls Royce, whose Adour Mk811 (32.5 kN) presently powers the IAF’s Jaguars, proposes its Adour Mk821 turbofan. Of 1970s vintage, the Anglo-French designed Jaguar has been with the IAF since 1979, when the first of the two twin-engine fighter aircraft landed in India. But from the beginning, the IAF, which has over 100 Jaguars — acquired either directly from BAE Systems or built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited — has persistently complained of a lack of thrust from the aircraft’s Rolls Royce / Turbomeca manufactured Mk804E or Rolls Royce Mk811 engines, especially during critical hot weather and high altitude missions. According to flight test engineers who were part of the team which oversaw the arrival of the first Jaguars from Britain, the high-hot weather the aircraft would have to operate in in India is the bugbear of the Rolls Royce engines. The IAF even asked Rolls Royce to tweak the engines to enhance its power, but post tweaking and a number of crashes, the IAF had the engines de-rated back to their original specifications. According to Honeywell — which showcased F125N at the Aero India 2009 air show in February — its engine boasts “improved pilot safety, lower maintenance costs and outstanding reliability.” Officials from Honeywell claim that the modular construction of F125N, with its advanced, dual full authority digital engine control system, would save the IAF $1.5billion in life cycle costs as compared to its competitor. Variants of F125 fly the Aero Vodochody CzAF L-159 and the Boeing DARPA X-45A Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle.Rolls Royce claims that Mk821 which is built on the proven technology of the Adour aero engines, “offers a low risk route to the twin benefits of greater thrust and lower life cycle costs.” Choosing the Mk821 also offers a high degree of commonality with the Mk871 variant which flies the IAF’s recent acquisition, the Hawk trainer.

Posted in: Fighter jet,India