From AMCA to warships: Rolls-Royce looks to anchor long-term manufacturing base in India

British aero-engine major Rolls-Royce is positioning India as its next “home market” outside the UK, signalling a sharp deepening of its long-term commitment to the country across defence, aerospace, naval propulsion and advanced engineering. The move, if realised, would place India alongside the US and Germany — the only two overseas geographies currently accorded that strategic status by the company. 

In an interview to PTI, Sashi Mukundan, executive vice president of Rolls-Royce India, said the company is planning a “big investment” in the country, with the development of a next-generation aero engine in India emerging as a key priority. The engine is intended to power India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), a cornerstone of New Delhi’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet ambitions. 

“We have developed two other home markets outside the UK — the US and Germany. We want to make India our next one,” Mukundan said, underlining that the company’s ambition in India goes far beyond defence alone. “That ambition cuts across defence, naval propulsion, land systems, manufacturing, advanced engineering skills, and technology development, all of which align closely with India’s own priorities,” he added. 

AMCA at the centre of strategy 

At the heart of Rolls-Royce’s India push is the AMCA programme, where discussions and background work are already underway on how the company could partner India in developing a new jet engine. Mukundan said Rolls-Royce has both the capability and the experience to support India’s next-generation engine requirements. 

“If India is thinking about next-generation engines, Rolls-Royce is probably the best partner,” he told PTI, adding that the company is open to transferring relevant technologies and jointly owning the intellectual property (IP) with India. 

“All of the engine design work can be done in India, with the relevant technology transferred and all new IP rights jointly owned. Once you own design IP, you have strategic control,” Mukundan noted, while acknowledging that manufacturing would require a carefully phased and safe capability-building process. 

Spin-offs for naval propulsion 

Rolls-Royce sees the AMCA engine programme as a potential catalyst for strengthening India’s naval propulsion capabilities as well. Mukundan explained that modern electric and hybrid propulsion systems for warships are derived from aero engine cores — an area where Rolls-Royce is among a handful of global players with the ability to “marinize” aero engines at scale. 

“If the aero-core derivative is built and co-designed in India, the overlapping supply chain becomes justifiable and can support both the aero and naval marine,” he said. This approach, he argued, avoids the challenge of building an entirely new marine propulsion ecosystem for the navy, where volumes are typically limited. 

As part of its expanding footprint, Rolls-Royce is set to firm up two memoranda of understanding with Indian defence public sector undertakings. One MoU will focus on manufacturing engines for the Arjun main battle tank, while the other will cover engines for future ready combat vehicles, further anchoring the company in India’s land systems domain. 

Mukundan declined to disclose the size of the proposed investment but said it would be substantial enough to have a visible impact. 

India as a long-term strategic home 

The company’s growing focus on India has been reinforced at the highest levels. In October, Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India would be “very critical” for the company going forward. 

Mukundan echoed that sentiment, pointing to the Indian government’s visible push for indigenous capability across air, land and naval domains. “Over the long term, India will be a major global power,” he said, adding that India’s expanding role in supporting the Global South further enhances its strategic relevance. “For Rolls-Royce, that makes India not just an important market, but a long-term strategic home,” he added. 

Rolls-Royce is one of the world’s dominant jet engine manufacturers, with a track record of developing and certifying new engines roughly every 18 months across commercial and combat aviation. In the combat segment, it powers the Eurofighter Typhoon with the EJ200 engine and leads the UK-Japan-Italy Global Combat Aircraft Programme aimed at sixth-generation fighters. 

The company has also co-developed high-end engines such as the F136 for the F-35 programme alongside GE Aviation, giving it experience in thrust ranges comparable to — or exceeding — what India is targeting for AMCA.