After completing these milestone Kaveri engine is flight-worthy. New Delhi’s Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) developed the GTX-35VS Kaveri engine for the Hindustan Aeronautics Tejas fighter. Kaveri spin-off engine can be used as propulsion system for Indian Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle (USAV). An indigenous Full-Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) unit, called Kaveri Digital Engine Control Unit (KADECU) has been developed by the Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), Bangalore. medianet_versionId = "3111299"; (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright © idrw.org 2006-2019. It was announced in November 2008 that the Kaveri engine will be installed on LCA by December 2009,[17] apparently for tests only. The People's Post reported that GTRE has agreed to de-link Kaveri from LCA, but has put in a proposal that when the first 40 GE-404 engines in the initial two squadrons of the LCA for the IAF, get phased out should be replaced by the Kaveri-Snecma engine, in future. For the LCA programme, the GTRE would again take up a turbofan design which it designated the GTX-35VS "Kaveri" (named after the Kaveri River). medianet_width = "600"; In August 2010, regarding the reasons for delay, a Ministry of Defense press release reported:[22], The DRDO currently hopes to have the Kaveri engine ready for use on the Tejas in the latter half of the 2010s decade[28] and according to latest news still research on it is going on and the time to complete its research has been extended to 2011-2012. "The engine control, performance and health during the flight were found to be excellent. Bangalore-based Gas Turbine Research Establishment, part of the chain of laboratories operating under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has achieved a significant breakthrough by developing a modified marine version of the Kaveri engine, which it has been developing for the country's Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme. So far, 9 prototypes of Kaveri Engine and 4 prototypes of Kabani (Core) Engine have been developed. The GTRE's design envisions achieving a fan pressure ratio of 4:1 and an overall pressure ratio of 27:1, which it believes will permit the Tejas to "supercruise" (cruise supersonically without the use of the afterburner). In February 2006, the ADA awarded a contract to SNECMA for technical assistance in working out the Kaveri's problems. The new aircraft of AN-188 family will be capable of based on different airfields, including airstrips, and landing on short runways of only 600-800 m in length. [25], In its annual report for 2010–11, The Comptroller and Auditor General of India noted that ₹18.92 billion (US$265.3 million) had been spent on development, with only two out of the six milestones prescribed having been met. [28], India's Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) aims to integrate the Kaveri power-plant with the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Tejas fighter within the next nine months. Snecma, on a tie up with DRDO, is slated to revive and certify the engine as part of the offsets deal for 36 Dassault Rafale jets purchased by India. Non availability of skilled/technically specialized manpower.". cost-effective D-436-148FM turbofan engines, rated at 8,800kgf each or AI-28 new-generation engines with greater fuel efficiency which are both manufactured in Ukraine or CFM56 7B engines which is manufactured by a 50/50 joint venture between General Electric (USA) & Safran Aircraft Engines (France). It had developed the GTX37-14U after-burning turbojet, which first ran in 1977, and was the first jet engine to be designed entirely in India. As an ongoing project, the air force will be involved at the point of integrating the upgraded version of the engine with the aircraft," he told Flightglobal. The Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE) of Avadi was responsible for the design and development of the Tejas aircraft-mounted accessory gear box (AMAGB) and the power take-off (PTO) shaft. (Redirected from Kaveri engine) The GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri is an afterburning turbofan project developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a lab under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru, India. It was earlier reported that the DRDO is closing down the Kaveri engine development programme. 2,200 hours of test (ground and altitude conditions) has been conducted. [20], "In recent times, the engine has been able to produce thrust of 18,000 lbf (82 kN) but what the IAF and other stake-holders desire is power between 20,000–21,000 lbf (90–95 kN)", senior officials told The Hindu. High Altitude testing on core engine has been completed successfully. A new engine typically costs up to $2 billion to develop, according to engine industry executives.[5]. According to the information provided by the company to idrw.org, AN-188 can be implemented under the Make in India program. AN-188 can accommodate up to 130 fully equipped paratroops. "A team of air force engineers is working with GTRE and ADA in addressing the issues. medianet_crid = "813405410"; [27] Another criticism has been DRDO's reluctance to admit problems in the engine and its resistance to involve foreign engine manufacturers until the problems became too large to handle. The AN-188 has the capability to fly distances up to 7,700 km, at a cruising altitude up to 12,100 km, and at a speed of up to 800 km/h depending on aircraft and engine type and variant. "ADA Tejas" in. Using the Kaveri engine core, GTRE scientists have added low pressure compressor and turbine as a gas generator and designed a free power turbine to generate shaft power. Kevari engine is far from anywhere but at the design and development stage. K9+ Program is a program to prove concept of complete design and gain hand-on experience of aircraft engine integration and flight trials to cover a defined truncated flight envelope prior to the launch of production version of K10 Standard engine. "Development and flight-testing of the new engine will take at least five to six years. Natarajan told Flightglobal that the programme will not be scrapped. If the integration is successful, the GTRE hopes to see a Tejas fly with a Kaveri power-plant by the end of 2013.[29]. Kaveri engine in its present form uses directionally solidified blade technology which is rather an old hat. Lack of availability of critical equipment & materials and denial of technologies by the technologically advanced countries. France's SNECMA, with over half a century of successful jet engine development experience, took nearly 13 years to bring the Rafale fighter's M88 engine to low-volume production after bench testing had begun; a similar timespan for the less-experienced GTRE would see Kaveri production beginning no earlier than 2009. Kaveri Marine Gas Turbine (KMGT), a recently developed derivative of the GTX-35VS Kaveri engine for ships. The success of the AMCA programme is critically dependent on the development of Kaveri GTRE35vs, as the power plant is the heart of any flying platform, leave alone a … [37] Another concept being considered is an enlarged version of the Tejas with two engines fitted with fully vectoring nozzles, which might make the vertical tail redundant (the Tejas has no horizontal tail).[4]. "Discussions with Snecma have been going on for two years," he further adds. The development model is fitted with an advanced convergent-divergent ("con-di") variable nozzle, but the GTRE hopes to fit production Tejas aircraft with an axisymmetric, multi-axis thrust-vectoring nozzle to further enhance the LCA's agility. medianet_crid = "211483524"; medianet_height = "250"; The Kaveri engine has been specifically designed for the Indian operating environment, which ranges from hot desert to the highest mountain range in the world. [10], In April 2005, "There is good progress" on the development of the Kaveri engine, M. Natarajan, Scientific Adviser to the Defense Minister told The Hindu. Much of the criticism of the LCA program has been aimed at the Kaveri and Multi-Mode Radar programs. [20], In June 2010, the Kaveri engine based on Snecma's new core, an uprated derivative of the M88-2 engine that powers the French Rafale fighter, providing 19,000–19,000 lbf (83–85 kN) of maximum thrust is being considered an option by DRDO.[21]. [15], In September 2008, it was announced that the Kaveri would not be ready in time for the Tejas, and that an in-production powerplant would have to selected. "Ab-initio development of state-of-the-art gas turbine technologies. (15 June 2006). Also I feel it can be used for LIFT LCA which is being contemplated by HAL. The GTRE GTX-35VS Kaveri is an afterburning turbofan project developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), a lab under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru, India. An Indian design, the Kaveri was originally intended to power production models of the HAL Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) being built by the … The first test engine consisted of only the core module (named "Kabini"), while the third engine was the first example fitted with variable inlet guide vanes (IGV) on the first three compressor stages. Article further adds that in 2011, 50-60 test flights will be carried out to mature the engine in terms of reliability, safety and airworthiness. Tacit knowledge acquired by the DRDO scientists during this project will also be applied for further aerospace technology.