Rolls-Royce to 'Protect, Power, and Connect' Viksit Bharat: Alex Zino

Backed by the UK govt, Rolls-Royce is also exploring co-developing and co-manufacturing the engine for India's planned fifth-generation fighter plane, with IP ownership in India

British engine-maker Rolls-Royce announced its plans to at least double its supply-chain sourcing from India. It is also exploring co-developing and co-manufacturing the engine for India’s planned fifth-generation fighter plane. Against this backdrop, ALEX ZINO, executive vice-president, business development and future programmes, Rolls-Royce (Defence), discussed the company’s three-pillar strategy with Bhaswar Kumar at Aero India 2025 in Bengaluru. Edited excerpts:

 

What do you bring to the table for India's military aircraft engine ambitions and requirements?

 

While we have been in India for 90 years and making in India for 68 years, we now see an opportunity for a step change in our partnership — strengthening national security (Protect), meeting energy demand (Power), and enhancing resilience (Connect) — by working closely with industry, government, and academia.

 

Within ‘Protect’, our vision is to equip India’s combat platforms across air, land, and sea with indigenously produced engines, developed in partnership with Indian companies. This will ensure self-reliance and freedom of modification within India. Ultimately, it’s about building India’s deterrence, in India, for India, while also creating export opportunities.

 

A key aspect is our commitment to co-designing, co-developing, and co-producing a combat aircraft engine, with intellectual property (IP) ownership in India. This is a significant differentiator, ensuring India’s self-reliance in critical propulsion technology. The conversation around engine co-development is clearly gaining momentum, with stakeholders increasingly seeking more details on our proposal.

 

The next-generation engine is intended to power later versions of India’s under-development fifth-generation fighter, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Is that right?

 

Yes. Backed by the United Kingdom (UK) government, our approach represents a differentiated, long-term commitment — building a robust aerospace and defence ecosystem in India to serve global markets and future combat needs. Beyond aerospace, this could extend to tank engines and fully electric propulsion for naval platforms.

 

The ‘Connect’ pillar focuses on expanding India’s aerospace ecosystem by strengthening the supply chain, boosting local production, and ensuring stable volume and demand. A key aspect is aerospace’s dual-use potential across civil and defence applications. We are supplying Air India and IndiGo with engines for their Airbus airliners, and hundreds of Trent XWB aero-engine parts for the Airbus A350 are already produced in India. We aim to further expand this supply chain. Adequate volumes and orders will provide forecast certainty, enabling us to scale up the ecosystem, enhance the supply chain, and expand capacity. Strengthening local capabilities and ensuring long-term stability will also create an ecosystem we can bank on for future defence plans in India.

 

Accordingly, on the first day of Aero India 2025, we announced plans to at least double our sourcing from India over the next five years across power systems, wide-body aircraft engines, and defence equipment.

 

Can you give more details on your intention to double supply-chain sourcing from India?

 

A significant commitment, given the aerospace industry's stringent quality and safety standards, this expansion will be both in scale, by ramping up existing operations, and in category, by diversifying into new areas.

 

We’ve already expanded the size of International Aerospace Manufacturing Pvt Ltd (IAMPL) — a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) — with a new facility in Tamil Nadu. IAMPL manufactures complex components for civil and defence aero-engine markets, now serving not just Rolls-Royce but other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), contributing to India's broader aerospace ecosystem. With global supply-chain challenges and rising engine demand, we see India as a key hub for capacity, supply certainty, and quality. Over the next five years, whether through transferring supply or building new capabilities, we remain committed to expanding our sourcing here. The key is providing long-term demand stability, giving suppliers the confidence to invest — a win-win for all stakeholders.

 

This growth extends beyond aerospace into reciprocating engines, including MTU brand products, as we expand that supply chain in India. What sets Rolls-Royce apart is its ability to deliver both aerospace and MTU reciprocating engine solutions — a full-spectrum capability none of our aerospace competitors offers. We can integrate our gas turbines with MTU generator sets to deliver a fully integrated power system for naval ships. Beyond this, energy resilience underlines our ‘Power’ pillar, positioning us to meet India’s surging energy demand with both stationary and mobile solutions, including integrated power systems for civilian applications like data centres.

 

Our ‘Protect, Power, and Connect’ framework defines our long-term partnership with India, aligned with Viksit Bharat. We have been in India for decades, but the focus now is on driving that step change — with gas turbines as one opportunity, alongside several other projects in our broader portfolio.

 

Do you have any specific figures or details related to this initiative?

 

Requests for proposals (RFPs) and Requests for information (RFIs) have been discussed at Aero India 2025. We hope to announce in the coming months where these orders are being placed and what they involve. Earlier this month, we signed a long-term agreement with Hyderabad-based Azad Engineering, which will supply us with critical civil aircraft engine components. Additionally, we recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Triveni Engineering and Industries to explore collaboration on 4-megawatt (Mw) marine gas turbine generator programmes for the navy. It’s about bringing everything together to drive that step change in our approach — that is what we are working towards. I think that is what sets Aero India 2025 apart for us.

 

Do you have any plans for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) segment?

 

Moving towards MRO in India will depend on the right timing and scale, and we are still in early stages. While we are exploring downstream options for MRO, this remains contingent on the fleet reaching the necessary scale. Air India has begun A350 operations, and as the wide-body fleet grows, MRO could become viable, but it must be economically sustainable. As the fleet expands and new opportunities arise, we will initiate discussions and evaluate it then.