London: 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 future combat aircraft under the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.

Mukundan highlighted that the AMCA engine core could also be adapted for naval applications, including marine and electric propulsion. He noted that Rolls-Royce is among a select group of global engine makers with the capability to “marinise” an aero engine, allowing it to be used for naval and hybrid-electric propulsion systems, an area critical to enhancing the combat capabilities of the Indian Navy.

Without disclosing investment figures, Mukundan said India’s scale, policy clarity and strong push towards a sophisticated defence manufacturing ecosystem make it an attractive long-term base for the company. He added that Rolls-Royce plans to finalise two Memorandums of Understanding with Indian defence public sector undertakings, one for manufacturing engines for Arjun tanks and another for engines for future-ready combat vehicles.

The strategic importance of India was underscored earlier in October, when Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic told Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a business roundtable that India would be critical to the company’s future growth.

Mukundan also said all engine design work could be carried out in India, with technology transfer and joint ownership of newly created intellectual property. He added that engines developed for the AMCA could also support India’s push into electric and hybrid naval propulsion, which is essentially derived from aero engine cores.

Touching upon civil aviation, Mukundan described India as one of the fastest-growing commercial aviation markets globally, noting that Rolls-Royce’s advanced engine technologies are well positioned to support the sector’s rapid expansion.