Link: https://www.indiandefensenews.in/2026/02/kaveri-engines-full-afterburner-triumph.html

Recently in the presence of Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, successful full afterburner test of the Kaveri engine was done at the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) in Bangalore.

The event showcased a new design with significant changes in Partnership with BrahMos Aerospace, this finally shows some development in this decade old project.

The afterburner, however, has historically posed the greatest hurdle. Earlier iterations managed only around 73 kN of wet thrust, which, while promising, did not match the performance of contemporary low-bypass turbofans.
For general, the GE F-404 engine for Tejas Mk1 produces and afterburner thrust of 84Kn, a 70 per cent augmentation. Modern designs typically achieve 60-80 per cent thrust increases, depending on operational conditions and engineering refinements. The new Kaveri engine with new KDE core gives a thrust in afterburner of 81-83Kn or 79-81Kn on the safer side.

I think it is a good news and not DRDO should focus on reducing weight of the engine to increase thrust to weight ratio and finally, these can be tested on Tejas.

What do you think, let me know.
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