In a first-ever military technology transfer between India and the US, a technical agreement has been reached on co-producing a jet engine in India.Almost 80 per cent of the manufacturing technology and intellectual property rights for the F-414 jet engine, developed by the US company General Electric, will be transferred to India.US major General Electric and Indian public sector aviation company Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) have reached an agreement on ‘technical matters’ of engine production, sources confirmed on Monday.The agreement is likely to be followed by the signing of a final contract later this year, sources have confirmed.The HAL-GE agreement is for the F-414 aero engine that will power the next-generation Tejas Mark-2, a heavier and potent upgrade over the existing Tejas Mark-1A jet production line. A lowered powered engine the F-404, also manufactured by General Electric, is used for the Tejas Mark-1A.The US, in June 2023, had agreed on a technology transfer and a joint venture to produce the F-414 aero-engine in collaboration with India.The upcoming Tejas Mark-2 fighter jet has been planned and designed around the specifications of the F-414 engine.Once production starts, it can stabilise the engine programme for jets needed by the Indian Air Force that is now operating at its lowest fighter squadron strength in decades.India and the US had inked the Industrial Security Agreement (ISA) in 2019, followed by a 2021 protocol for the exchange of classified information between the defence industries of both the nations.Last week, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri had an interaction with the US Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment Mike Duffey at the Pentagon in Washington DC.Following the meeting, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said in a post on social media platform X that “this was to advance India-US major defence partnership, focusing on co-production, sustainment, and shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific”.