India’s Kaveri 2.0 Jet Engine Reborn: DRDO Overhauls Core with Advanced Blisks and 100 kN Afterburner to Replace Delayed US GE-F404 Powerplants

NEW DELHI — In a major push toward defense self-reliance, the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has officially initiated the Kaveri 2.0 fighter jet engine project. The strategic revival comes amid mounting global supply chain bottlenecks and severe delivery delays of American General Electric (GE) F404 engines. These delays have left dozens of newly built HAL Tejas Mark 1A airframes parked on the tarmac awaiting propulsion units.
Engineers are completely rebuilding the engine core, prioritizing a redesigned High-Pressure Compressor (HPC) engineered to maximize pressure ratios and fuel efficiency. To endure extreme internal temperatures and drastically increase durability, the new blueprint integrates single-piece blisks (bladed disks) machined from advanced titanium alloys alongside single-crystal turbine blades.The Kaveri 2.0 targets a baseline “dry” thrust of 55 kN to 60 kN and a maximum “wet” thrust (with afterburner) of 90 kN to 100 kN. This power output successfully aligns with the performance class of the GE F404 engines, paving the way for Kaveri 2.0 to serve as a direct indigenous powerplant replacement during future mid-life upgrades of India’s frontline fighter fleet.

NEW DELHI — In a major push toward defense self-reliance, the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has officially initiated the Kaveri 2.0 fighter jet engine project. The strategic revival comes amid mounting global supply chain bottlenecks and severe delivery delays of American General Electric (GE) F404 engines. These delays have left dozens of newly built HAL Tejas Mark 1A airframes parked on the tarmac awaiting propulsion units.
Engineers are completely rebuilding the engine core, prioritizing a redesigned High-Pressure Compressor (HPC) engineered to maximize pressure ratios and fuel efficiency. To endure extreme internal temperatures and drastically increase durability, the new blueprint integrates single-piece blisks (bladed disks) machined from advanced titanium alloys alongside single-crystal turbine blades.The Kaveri 2.0 targets a baseline “dry” thrust of 55 kN to 60 kN and a maximum “wet” thrust (with afterburner) of 90 kN to 100 kN. This power output successfully aligns with the performance class of the GE F404 engines, paving the way for Kaveri 2.0 to serve as a direct indigenous powerplant replacement during future mid-life upgrades of India’s frontline fighter fleet.