NEW DELHI: State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and UK’s Rolls-Royce have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish packaging, installation, marketing and services support for Rolls-Royce MT30 marine engines in India.

“Through this MoU, Rolls-Royce and HAL will…work together in the area of marine applications for the first time," a statement from HAL said on Tuesday.

The announcement came on the sidelines of a summit meeting between India and the UK on Tuesday that was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The MT30 is billed as the world's most power-dense, best-in-class naval gas turbine currently in-service with naval programmes worldwide in various propulsion arrangements across seven ship types.

Derived from the Trent aero engine family, the MT30 has the potential to provide next-generation capabilities to the Indian Navy's future fleet, the HAL statement said. The MT30 can deliver its full power of up to 40 MW in ambient temperatures up to 38 degrees Celsius, without any power degradation throughout the life of the ship, it added.

“Rolls-Royce has been our valued partner for several decades. We now look forward to working together to explore business opportunities in marine applications," R. Madhavan, chairman and managing director of HAL was quoted as saying in the statement.

“This partnership will leverage the rich experience of HAL’s IMGT (Industrial and Marine Gas Turbine) Division that works on marine gas turbines with Indian shipyards. Further, we are also exploring the option of using MT7 marine engine on the hovercraft being planned by the shipyards in India," Madhavan said.

Kishore Jayaraman, president, Rolls-Royce India and South Asia said he was looking forward to bringing together his company’s “naval propulsion solutions and HAL’s in-market expertise in working with marine gas turbines to support our MT30 engines. We look forward to building on this partnership to provide solutions in the area of naval defence."

Tom Bell, president, Rolls-Royce Defence, said: “Rolls-Royce has a shared history of successful collaboration with HAL in defence aerospace, and we are proud to strengthen our valued partnership to work together for the MT30 naval gas turbine. As India focuses on its vision of modernization and self-reliance in defence, we look forward to introducing the MT30 to customers in India in collaboration with HAL. Designed for naval platforms of the future, the MT30 is perfectly equipped to meet the Indian Navy’s present and future needs."

At the Aero India show in February, HAL and Rolls-Royce had announced several pacts, including an MoU to establish an Authorized Maintenance Centre at HAL for Adour MK871 engines to support international military customers and operators.

They had also announced their intent to expand their supply chain partnerships for civil and defence aerospace, by working towards making Adour Mk871 engine parts in India, as well as supplying forgings such as shrouds, cases and seals for Rolls-Royce’s Pearl 15 and Trent family of engines.