Rolls-Royce expands pact with Bharat Forge to source fan blades for Pearl 10X engine

Mumbai, Oct 16 (PTI) British aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce on Thursday announced signing a pact with Bharat Forge for the manufacturing and supply of fan blades for its Pearl 700 and Pearl 10X engines.

The pact signed at Rolls-Royce's Dahlewitz facility near Berlin, marks a significant milestone in the company's commitment towards building in-country capabilities and strategic local partnerships, a statement said.

The pact, an expansion of existing collaboration between the two partners, also builds on the company's commitment to double its supply chain sourcing from India by 2030, the engine maker said.

Rolls-Royce started to collaborate with Bharat Forge in 2020, sourcing parts for the Pearl 700 programme in 2020.

The newly signed agreement expands this scope to include the Pearl 10X engine, marking a significant expansion of Bharat Forge's role in supporting next-generation propulsion systems, it said.

Over the years, the Pune-based diversified group has worked closely with Rolls-Royce on the Pearl 700 programme, delivering its first zero-defect fan blade in 2020.

"This new contract reflects our commitment to developing world-class manufacturing capabilities in India, with a shared vision of delivering state-of-the-art aerospace components to the global supply chain ecosystem," said Sashi Mukundan, Executive Vice President for transformation at Rolls- Royce India.

The Pearl 10X engine features the Advance2 engine core, the most efficient core available across the business aviation sector, combined with a high-performance low-pressure system, resulting in a superior thrust of more than 18,000lb.

"This expanded partnership with Rolls-Royce reflects our shared commitment to engineering excellence and long-term collaboration. We are proud to support the Pearl engine family, which represents the future of high-performance aviation," said Amit Kalyani, Vice Chairman and Joint Managing Director of Bharat Forge Ltd. PTI IAS RKL MR