Amid an ongoing crisis over supply of engines for fighter jets, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh — on a visit to Bengaluru — today reviewed the domestic jet engine, the Kaveri, and set a “five-year” deadline to finish the engine-project for the next generation of jets.Separately, at another event at Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in the same city, he flagged off two additional Akash air-defence missile systems –- which showed their prowess during Operation Sindoor against Pakistan in May last year. He also inaugurated the ‘missile integration facility’ on the premises and also remotely inaugurated the Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence (CoE-AI) located in Pune.Earlier in the day, Rajnath was on a visit to domestic-engine maker, the Gas Turbine and Research Establishment (GTRE), in Bengaluru where he set a five-year deadline for DRDO scientists to develop the country’s “indigenous aero engines”.“India’s current situation, our strategic needs and our ambitions are such that you should assume that your 20 years have already ended and now you have only five years left,” the minister said.The deadline should not come as a “shock or surprise”, “it’s a challenge. We have to achieve in these five years what other countries take 20 years to do. We have to give it our best,” he said.“Every effort is being made to prioritise the development of aero engines in India,” Rajnath Singh said. We have made numerous attempts in the past to achieve expertise in the field of aero engines. Now, the time has come to complete those efforts, he added.So far, India imports engines even for its indigenous fighter jet, the Tejas. With more than 500 jets to be produced in India over the next 15-17 years, the non-availability of an engine is seen as a handicap for growth.The existing order for supply of 99 engines by US company General Electric for the Tejas is running a couple of years behind schedule. Last week, public sector plane-maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited put out a statement that nine planes stand ready, but engines are awaited.For the future, India is looking at a tie-up with Safran of France and Rolls Royce of UK for collaboration for the next generation of engines to power fighter jets. The minister said, “Both France and UK are very advanced in aero-engine technology. These collaborations will not only provide us with the opportunity to learn new technologies, but also help us to understand the challenges they have faced over the past decades.”The minister also witnessed the “full afterburner” engine test of the Kaveri engine.