India’s first indigenously made jet engine ‘Kaveri’ is all set for a test flight next month. According to the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), the nodal laboratory for this program, the ‘Kaveri’ jet engine has finished all simulation and altitude tests and it will now be flight-tested on an Ilyushin-76 aircraft in Russia. GTRE, the lab under state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has been engaged in the research and development of the ‘Kaveri’ engine for two decades. T Mohana Rao, director of GTRE, confirmed that the last test of the engine in Russia this February was satisfactory and that the engine is ready for a test flight in a month’s time.
So far, the GTRE has developed nine ‘Kaveri’ jet-engines and four ‘Kabini’, the core turbojet engine of the ‘Kaveri’ engine and all have been satisfactorily tested for their optimal performance. The ‘Kaveri’ engine will be used for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft which is being indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). According to GTRE officials, around Rs3, 000 crore has been spent on the Kaveri project. Although the projected cost was nearly $82 million in 1989, by December 2004, GTRE had spent over $ 295 million on developing the ‘Kaveri’ engine. While technical problems kept plaguing the progress in the ‘Kaveri’ development programme, it also failed its high-altitude tests in Russia in 2004. Hence, it was rejected for the Tejas LCA and the General Electric engine F-404 was fitted in the operational squadron ‘Tejas’ LCA.
However, GTRE is all set to make ‘Kaveri’ engine work for the ‘Tejas’ LCA and it plans to reduce the weight of the ‘Kaveri’ engine to 50 kilograms from 60 kilograms. GTRE has been involved in the research and development of gas turbines for military aircraft for a long time. Lately, it has become the nodal laboratory for a programme involving “coherent directed research” in the area of gas turbines. This program called “GATET”, which has been initiated by Aeronautics Research & Development Board (AR&DB), envisages about $20 million investment in three years and participation of 100 R&D centres and 1000 Scientists, engineers and technicians. GTRE will fill the technology gaps and develop human resources in military engine development.
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