The announcement was timed to coincide with Indian Prime Minister NarendraThe deal, called "historic" and "trailblazing" by officials, is considered the most significant of a number of agreements expected to be concluded between the two countries or their companies during Modi's visit, which ends on Friday.The GE engine in question is called the F414 and it has been used by U.S. Navy aircraft for more than 30 years.
Hindustan Aeronautics turned to GE's F404 engine – the predecessor of F414 – to power Tejas in the mid-2000s. New Delhi hopes it can meet its target with home-made jets powered by home-made engines to keep costs under control and also to avoid becoming dependent on a foreign supplier.India and the United States, once on opposite sides of the Cold War, have grown closer over the last two decades and are building a strong bond centred on trade, defence and technology partnerships as well as geopolitical alignment.