The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in India will shortly begin commercial negotiations for 99 aircraft engines for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA).
Eurojet Turbo and General Electric Aviation have been shortlisted, after expressions of interest for an alternate engine for the LCA were issued in 2009.
Eurojet has offered its EJ200 engine that powers the Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, while General Electric has offered the F414 engine used in the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Superhornets.
The new engine will power the mkII variant of the Tejas, which currently runs on F-404 engines made by GE, according to the Financial Express.
The IAF requires five squadrons of the mkII, featuring the alternate, more powerful engine and upgraded electronics.
The air force will induct 20 Tejas aircraft with the current engine and configuration. They will be be delivered by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) from March 2011.
