On August 14, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Rolls Royce announced their strategic intent to jointly pursue the design, development, manufacturing and delivery of a sovereign indigenous combat engine for the AMCA, with a proposed Aerospace Gas Turbine Complex in India. This marks the entry of India’s largest private sector company into India’s defence industrial race. RIL differs from other private companies currently operating in the defence sector such as Mahindra, Tata, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge, Adani and others, because of its sheer scale, capital availability and industrial ecosystem. It reported a gross revenue of around $123 billion for FY 2025-26.

In 2015, Anil Ambani entered the defence sector by his Reliance Group creating dedicated defence subsidiaries. However, now in 2026, Mukesh Ambani’s RIL enters the race at the most strategically sensitive areas of aerospace technology i.e. fighter propulsion. It is not starting with a conventional defence manufacturing portfolio, but at a totally different technological level. Its first major public signal is fighter aircraft propulsion, arguably one of the most technologically demanding areas of military manufacturing.

At Chakra News, we spoke to Air Marshal M Matheswaran, former President of Aerospace business of Reliance Defence Ltd. Speaking on the subject, he mentioned that Reliance Industries Limited is primarily an oil company, and not a technology-based company. He said “Developing a combat engine would be hundred times more difficult than building the Jamnagar Refinery” on RIL intending to build the engine for the AMCA Programme. India’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is the programme for which RIL and Rolls Royce have announced their strategic intent to pursue the development of a combat engine.

Historically, India has designed aircraft to a degree, but however struggles with fighter aircraft engines. Relying on external technologies and know-how creates a strategic vulnerability which India presently seeks to counter by developing, designing and manufacturing technologies domestically. The government has also been encouraging greater private-sector participation and foreign technology partnerships. The proposed Reliance Rolls Royce arrangement is therefore potentially about creating an industrial ecosystem around propulsion, rather than merely assembling foreign engines in India.

Apart from the buzz surrounding this development, an important question remains. The difference between manufacturing localisation and technological sovereignty. A defence product can be manufactured in India without the underlying technology actually being Indian. Even if the manufacturing is carried out in India and parts are sourced locally, the critical question remains about the control of key intellectual property and technological know-how. This would fundamentally determine who can modify the engine, who can upgrade it, who controls critical design data, who exports it and mainly, who can develop the next generation from the existing design. ‘Creating in India’ is more strategically significant than merely ‘Made in India’.

To this, Air Marshal Matheswaran stated, “For Reliance to have complete control over the full nuances of engine manufacturing, would take them nothing less than 30 years’’. He had a clear with respect to this, where he mentioned Rolls Royce or any foreign company will not provide India with the core technology. That has to be developed by our own research and development eventually, he said that Reliance has the capital, which others do not. This presents them an opportunity to harness the correct technologies from Rolls Royce in the long run. Air Marshal Matheswaran re-emphasized on the fact that it would depend on Reliance to extract the correct technologies, after which it would be one of the major engine-producing houses of the world.

Apart from this, Air Marshal Matheswaran also mentioned that this announcement signals a positive development, while seen through the broader lens of Indian national interest. He stated, “This engine is crucial for the IAF and increased competition would lead to better performance”. He said it is a move in the right direction, but ideally should have been atleast 30-40 years ago. Also, he noted that, “In the first, or possibly even in the second phase, it will largely remain a foreign engine”. He said the partnership is important but for the beginning 10-20 years, India will not be able to make its own engine with the indigenous technology.

Yet just an intent, it remains to see whether the AMCA engine contract is awarded to Reliance and Rolls Royce. The companies have announced their intention to offer capabilities jointly for the programme. However, this strategic intent could create a strategic asset, which could eventually go beyond just the AMCA Programme. If India develops a credible domestic ecosystem around high thrust military engines, it could potentially support other manned and unmanned aircrafts, advanced drones, cruise missile propulsion. At present, this development remains largely significant. A foreign partner can dramatically accelerate India's technological learning curve. With policy support, large demand, strategic importance and export potential, RIL seeks to acquire strategic industrial capabilities for the next 20 to 30 years.

Savio Rodrigues

Savio Rodrigues is a Research Analyst at Escape Velocity MediaWorks Pvt Ltd, where he writes extensively for Chakra Newz on defence, national security, geopolitics and emerging technologies. He holds a Master's degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies from the University of Mumbai and has experience in geopolitical risk analysis, strategic research and international affairs.