Global engine maker Rolls-Royce and Reliance Industries Limited on Friday announced a partnership to develop an indigenous combat engine for the under-development fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).The ambitious AMCA is the first fighter jet programme for which the Ministry of Defence has opened manufacturing to the private sector. The ministry has invited three shortlisted consortiums to submit formal commercial and technical bids for the manufacture of five prototypes of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft.The three bidders invited to submit their Request for Proposal (RFP) are Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), which is competing independently; a consortium led by Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and Dynamatic Technologies Ltd; and another consortium comprising Bharat Forge, PSU BEML and Data Patterns.The winning partner will work with the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to build five flying prototypes and one structural test aircraft. The shortlisted firms, selected on the basis of their technical capabilities, will compete to build the prototypes.None of the three firms invited to bid is an engine manufacturer. The Ministry of Defence is seeking a 120-kilonewton engine for the AMCA.In a statement on Friday, Reliance Industries said it had announced a “strategic intent to partner and offer capabilities for the design, development, manufacturing and delivery of a sovereign indigenous combat engine of AMCA”.As part of the partnership, Reliance and Rolls-Royce will explore the establishment of a dedicated aerospace gas turbine complex that would serve as a centre of excellence for power and propulsion technology in India, the statement said.“The partnership will offer a compelling proposition for joint development of the AMCA engine in India, bringing together world-leading technology and industrial execution capabilities,” the statement added.Anant Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Industries Limited, said, “India’s strategic autonomy requires sovereign capability in critical technologies. Our intent with Rolls-Royce is to combine their world-leading expertise in advanced propulsion with Reliance’s technology, manufacturing, scale and execution capabilities to build an indigenous aero-engine ecosystem in India.”He said the partnership was a contribution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of an “Atmanirbhar Viksit Bharat”.Tufan Erginbilgiç, CEO, Rolls-Royce, said, “We are bringing together our century-long heritage in advanced engineering and proven engine expertise with their homegrown leadership in Indian industry.”The two companies will seek to build sovereign, end-to-end Indian capability across design, development, manufacturing, testing, production and through-life support. The partnership will also explore wider collaborations across defence, civil aerospace, and new power and propulsion systems.Rolls-Royce has a presence in 47 countries and customers in more than 100 countries, including airlines and aircraft leasing companies, armed forces and navies, and marine and industrial customers.