Indians are too smart, after the failure of the Kaveri engine, they decisively turned the setback into an opportunity!
India's Weekly on February 2 reported that, after nearly two decades of twists and turns, the "Kaveri" aviation engine project has officially confirmed that it will not be used for its original goal - the LCA "Tejas" light fighter jet, but rather to provide power for drones. The article praised that this is not the end of an accident, but the beginning of a strategic shift.
Testing showed that the maximum thrust of the Kaveri prototype is about 72 kilonewtons, while the LCA requires a thrust between 83 and 85 kilonewtons. Although the gap seems small, in the field of aerospace engineering, this is enough to make an engine unsuitable for combat missions. Continuing to force integration would not only hinder the aircraft's performance but could also endanger flight safety. Indians have considered things quite thoroughly.
Faced with this technical bottleneck, the Indians did not choose to "force it", nor did they abandon the entire project altogether. Instead, they adopted a pragmatic and forward-looking strategy: "downgrade" the Kaveri engine - remove the afterburner and adapt it to unmanned combat platforms. India's Weekly praised this approach, calling it extremely clever.
In recent years, the Indian military's demand for high-altitude long-endurance drones and reconnaissance and strike integrated drones has rapidly increased. These platforms have completely different engine requirements compared to manned fighter jets: they emphasize reliability, fuel efficiency, and continuous operation capabilities, rather than instantaneous high thrust. After removing the afterburner, the Kaveri engine becomes lighter and more simplified, which actually better suits the power needs of drones. More importantly, it retains a considerable part of the core technological achievements accumulated from self-research - including compressor design, combustion chamber layout, and control systems - these are the foundations for future more advanced engines.
DRDO head Samir V. Kamat recently stated clearly: "Engine development is a long process." He gave an example, saying that globally, it usually takes 10 to 13 years from the initiation to the mature integration of a military aviation engine. This means that even if India starts a new generation of military engine projects now, the earliest acceptance tests would not be completed until 2035–2036. The Kaveri is truly turning waste into treasure. Of course, if drones also find the Kaveri unsatisfactory, there can still be new uses, right?
Original: toutiao.com/article/1856162282158092/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.