A new wave of support is sweeping through social media under the hashtag #FundKaveriEngine, as netizens rally for increased funding to revive and fast-track India’s long-standing dream: developing an indigenous fighter jet engine, the Kaveri.
And there’s encouraging news. According to an ANI report, the Kaveri engine is currently undergoing testing in Russia, conducted by India’s premier defense research agency, DRDO. Only 25 more hours of testing remain. Once complete, the engine is expected to be integrated into India’s upcoming stealth attack drone UCAV, which is also being developed indigenously and is nearing completion.
The report notes that Russian agencies have already allocated testing slots for the Kaveri. These tests are being carried out at a high-end facility near Moscow, where the engine is mounted on a modified IL-76 cargo aircraft—known as a “testbed”—to evaluate its performance under various conditions.
There’s more. DRDO also aims to integrate the Kaveri engine into India’s LCA Tejas fighter jets and the ambitious AMCA—India’s fifth-generation fighter aircraft. But here’s the catch: India lacks the infrastructure for testing jet engines on large airborne platforms. That’s why this crucial testing is taking place abroad.
This dependency has become a rallying point. Supporters of the #FundKaveriEngine campaign are urging the government to build testbed infrastructure within India and reduce reliance on foreign facilities for advanced defense R&D.
What is the Kaveri Engine?
The Kaveri is an indigenously developed fighter jet engine program led by DRDO’s GTRE lab. It was originally meant to power the LCA Tejas, India’s homegrown light combat aircraft. However, due to technical challenges and occasional funding hurdles, the engine didn’t meet performance expectations and was dropped from the Tejas program.
As a result, India had to rely on American GE F404 engines for the Tejas fleet. However, with GE experiencing delays in engine deliveries, the production of new Tejas Mark-1A jets has slowed down—impacting the Indian Air Force, which is already grappling with a shortage of fighter aircraft.
If the Kaveri engine is successfully completed and deployed, it could mark a turning point for India’s defense sector—reducing reliance on foreign tech, boosting self-reliance, and powering a new generation of indigenous aircraft.
