Pune: Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR., ADR: RYCEY) has signed an agreement with Bharat Forge Ltd to manufacture and supply fan blades for Rolls-Royce’s Pearl 700 and Pearl 10X engine.
The agreement marks a significant milestone in Rolls-Royce’s commitment towards building in-country capabilities and strategic local partnerships and builds on its commitment to double its supply chain sourcing from India by 2030. The contract was signed at Rolls-Royce’s Dahlewitz facility near Berlin, reinforcing the long-standing collaboration between the two companies and Bharat Forge’s position as a trusted global supplier of precision aerospace components.
Speaking about the partnership, Sashi Mukundan, Executive Vice President – Transformation, Rolls- Royce India said, “Rolls-Royce is delighted to deepen its partnership with Bharat Forge towards advancing the ‘Make in India’ vision. 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.”
Amit Kalyani, Vice Chairman and Joint Managing Director of Bharat Forge, Ltd. said, “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.”
Rolls-Royce started to collaborate with Bharat Forge in 2020, sourcing parts for the Pearl 700 programme in 2020. Over the years, Bharat Forge has worked closely with Rolls-Royce to achieve class-leading quality and delivery performance on the Pearl 700 programme, delivering its first zero-defect fan blade in 2024. 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.
The Pearl 10X is the latest and most powerful member of the market-leading Pearl engine family, which is powering some of the largest, fastest and longest-range business jets available. 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.
Rolls-Royce’s legacy in India spans 90 years, and encompasses strong strategic local partnerships, knowledge sharing collaborations with academia, joint ventures, robust supply chain, rich talent pool, engineering capability, digital solutions, and service delivery capabilities. Today, over 1400 Rolls-Royce engines power various platforms of the Indian Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Army. More than 4000 people work across its ecosystem, including 2800 highly skilled engineers contributing to global development programmes.
Bharat Forge has been a key supplier to Rolls-Royce since the inception of the Pearl 700 Programme, consistently delivering high-quality machined blades. Remarkably, Bharat Forge is the first and only company in India to offer this advanced technology for precision aerospace components used in the Pearl engine family. This capability reflects the company’s commitment to investing in cutting-edge manufacturing infrastructure and delivering globally competitive aerospace solutions. Bharat Forge is also keen to invest and grow to the next level, with a strategic focus on building long-term partnerships with leading OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers worldwide. The company is committed to advancing its capabilities in high-precision manufacturing, innovation, and sustainable aerospace solutions.