Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Aerospace and defence and Aviation propulsion

No aircraft, civil or military, can be delivered without its engines, and engine output is now the tightest constraint on the industry; India still flies every fighter on a foreign engine and is trying to change that through the Safran co-development for AMCA.

Aerospace and defence (industry) and Aviation propulsion (energy): 4 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Engines for every airframe

Physical flow · Strong · Aviation propulsion → aerospace and defence

The engine is the aircraft's propulsion system, so engine makers, airframers and defence buyers all depend on it; the site rates it 5 of 5 on criticality for aero-engine makers and commercial airframers.

  • 5 of 5 criticality for aero-engine makers and commercial airframers
  • over 17,000 aircraft in the industry order backlog, 2025
  • nearly 12 years of current production needed to clear that backlog, 2025

IATA reports that airframe production is running ahead of engine production, so some newly built airframes are parked until engines arrive. It does not expect supply and airline demand to come back into balance before 2031 to 2034, so engine output, not airframe capacity, sets delivery rates.

Enterprise types that depend on it:

  • Aero-engine makers: the engines are the propulsion system (criticality 5 of 5)
  • Commercial airframers: flight test and delivery (criticality 5 of 5)
  • Airlines, lessors and defence ministries: operations (criticality 3 of 5)

Sources: Material Insights; IATA

2. Fighter engine supply

Shared risk · Strong · One foreign engine supplier gates Indian fighter output

Only a few firms make fighter engines, and a fighter is designed around one engine type, so a late engine holds up the whole aircraft programme.

  • 99 F404 engines ordered by HAL from GE in January 2021, for US$ 716 million
  • 4 of those engines delivered by October 2025, against a plan of 16 a year from April 2023

Slow F404 deliveries held back the Tejas Mark-1A programme; GE handed over the fifth engine of the 2021 order only in December 2025. HAL still signed for 113 more F404 engines in November 2025, to be delivered between 2027 and 2032, because there is no ready alternative for that airframe.

Sources: The Tribune; LatestLY (news agency report)

3. Same engine makers

Geography and ownership · Strong · Civil and military engines come from the same firms

Engine design, hot-section materials and certification are so costly that the few firms able to do them, such as GE and Safran, serve both civil airliners and fighters from shared plants and supply chains.

  • 1,802 LEAP engines delivered in 2025 by CFM, Safran's joint venture with GE, up 28% on 2024
  • 21% rise in Safran Propulsion aftermarket revenue, 2025

Safran is ramping up civil LEAP output while also raising M88 production for the Rafale to serve a strong export backlog, so civil and defence demand compete for the same forging, casting and assembly capacity. Safran has also opened its largest LEAP repair centre in Hyderabad and announced an M88 repair shop in India.

Sources: Leeham News; Safran

4. India's engine programme

Policy · High in India · Defence policy seeks a domestic fighter engine

All Indian fighter aircraft use foreign engines, and the domestic Kaveri engine did not reach the thrust a fighter needs, so the government has turned to co-development with a foreign partner that offers full technology transfer.

  • 120 kN thrust class of the planned AMCA engine to be co-developed by GTRE and Safran
  • ₹61,000 crore reported value of the project to co-develop fighter engines with France, 2025

A modified Kaveri is now being developed for unmanned systems, and the first AMCA squadrons are expected to fly on US GE F414 engines. Until a co-developed engine is certified, Indian fighter programmes stay tied to GE engines and their delivery schedules.

Sources: Outlook Business; Angel One

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Engine output, not airframe capacity, is setting aircraft delivery rates, with a backlog above 17,000 aircraft equal to nearly 12 years of production in 2025.
  2. The same few engine makers serve civil and military customers, so a civil ramp-up and a defence build-up compete for the same parts and plants.
  3. Indian fighter programmes carry single-supplier engine risk: only 4 of 99 F404 engines ordered in 2021 had arrived by October 2025.

What to track

  • LEAP and other engine delivery numbers: Rising deliveries ease the main constraint on airframer output (Quarterly · Safran and GE results)
  • F404 deliveries to HAL and Tejas Mark-1A handovers: Shows whether the Indian fighter programme is back on schedule (Quarterly · HAL disclosures, Ministry of Defence)
  • Aircraft order backlog and parked airframes: A widening gap signals longer engine shortages (Twice a year · IATA)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. Every Indian fighter flies on a foreign engine, so engine supply is a strategic dependency, not only an industrial one.
  2. The Kaveri experience shows that a fighter engine is among the hardest parts of an aircraft to build at home; the 120 kN Safran co-development depends on real transfer of hot-section know-how such as single-crystal blades.
  3. Repair and overhaul work, such as Safran's LEAP and M88 shops in India, builds domestic engine skills earlier than full engine design does.

What to track

  • GTRE and Safran AMCA engine milestones: Signals progress towards a domestic fighter engine (As announced · Ministry of Defence, DRDO)
  • F404 delivery rate against contract: Measures exposure to a single foreign supplier (Quarterly · HAL, Ministry of Defence)

India

India has no domestic fighter engine in service: HAL depends on GE F404 engines for the Tejas, ordering 99 in 2021 and 113 more in 2025, while a 120 kN engine for AMCA is to be co-developed by GTRE and Safran.

Sources

  1. Aerospace and defence: materials, Material Insights (2026)
  2. Aerospace supply chain bottlenecks continue to constrain airlines, IATA (2025)
  3. HAL, GE sign fresh contract for 113 more engines for Tejas jets, The Tribune (2025)
  4. Safran hails 'outstanding' 2025; prepares for Airbus ramp-up, Leeham News (2026)
  5. India, France mull tie-up to develop next-gen jet engine under ₹61,000-cr pact, Outlook Business (2025)
  6. GE Aerospace hands over 5th F404-IN20 engine to HAL, LatestLY (news agency report) (2025)
  7. Safran reports excellent financial performance in 2025 and raises its 2028 ambitions, Safran (2026)
  8. India and France to join hands on ₹61,000 crore fighter engines project, Angel One (2025)