Every dated status change and builder update, newest first. Progress is the plot.
2026-07-15Deep-throttling liquid rocket engine → Emerging · CE-20 demonstrates limited throttling (20-22 tonne range); LOX-methane engines in early testing; NGLV programme explicitly requires throttling for landing, but sub-scale tests only just begun in January 2026.status
2026-07-15DO-178C flight software certification process → No capability · No evidence of indigenous Indian DO-178C certification infrastructure or completed projects; India uses domestic CEMILAC/IMAP certification processes for military airborne systems instead.status
2026-07-15Aero gas turbine design → Emerging · GTRE has working engine prototypes (Kaveri Dry Engine approved for inflight testing Dec 2024; Manik producing small engines in series) but neither has achieved production-scale military certification or operational service.status
2026-07-15Advanced aluminium alloy melting and rolling process → Emerging · HAAL casts aerospace-grade hard alloys; BALCO and NALCO operate rolling capacity but for commodity grades; extrusion press still under foundation (June 2026), rolling for flight-critical 2xxx/7xxx sheet/plate not in production.status
2026-07-15Vertical takeoff vertical landing (VTVL) guidance and control → Demonstrated · ISRO successfully demonstrated autonomous VTVL guidance on winged RLV-TD ('Pushpak') with three consecutive landing experiments (LEX-01 through LEX-03) from 2023–2024, validating onboard navigation and control; retro-propulsive booster VTVL guidance remains under development.status
2026-07-15PAN precursor for carbon fiber → Emerging · NAL has demonstrated lab-scale PAN-to-carbon-fiber conversion (pilot plant), while Reliance and others plan production; no commercial PAN precursor factory yet operational.status
2026-07-15Precision optics and mirror figuring → Emerging · Small firms and labs conduct R&D and prototype low-precision optics; no demonstrated production of semiconductor-grade precision mirrors or ion-beam figuring capability.status
2026-07-15Laser-produced tin-plasma EUV light source → No capability · No Indian entity or programme attempting development; technology entirely imported via ASML's global monopoly.status
2026-07-15Turboprop engine → Emerging · HAL is adapting existing helicopter turboshaft engines into turboprop variants for UAVs and conducting local assembly of imported engines, but no full-cycle indigenous turboprop design is in production.status
2026-07-15Aerospace-grade aluminium alloys and CFRP composites → Emerging · Hindalco-Almex manufactures aerospace-grade aluminium alloys at scale (12,000 TPA); CFRP component manufacturing exists but India fully imports raw carbon fibre; major investments announced by Reliance and Jindal remain in development/early production phases.status
2026-07-15Integrated commercial avionics suite → Emerging · R&D exists in military avionics components through BEL/DRDO/HAL, but no integrated commercial avionics suite has been completed or certified for civilian use.status
2026-07-15Large-aircraft final assembly line → Demonstrated · India has successfully assembled and test-flown indigenous C-295 aircraft and inaugurated two operating FALs, but remains dependent on foreign OEM partnership and design.status
2026-07-15Wide-chord composite fan blades → No capability · No evidence of indigenous Indian capability; India imports all aero-engine fan blades and depends entirely on foreign suppliers.status
2026-07-15Process integration and yield engineering expertise → Emerging · India has government-backed fab projects underway with international technology partners (PSMC, equipment vendors) and academic training programs launching, but no independent operational fab demonstrating indigenous process integration capability yet.status
2026-07-15GaN RF semiconductor → Demonstrated · DRDO achieved prototype GaN MMIC devices by March 2023 and demonstrated MMICs with 40W power at X-band frequencies; Agnit moved to initial wafer production in 2022; no large-scale commercial RF manufacturing yet operational.status
2026-07-15MOCVD reactor equipment → No capability · No evidence of indigenous MOCVD reactor equipment manufacturing in India; academic labs import foreign equipment; Taiyo Nippon Sanso has supply presence only, not manufacturing.status
2026-07-15Compound semiconductor wafer fab → Emerging · First commercial SiC fab (SiCSem) under construction with August 2025 government approval; DRDO lab demonstrations of GaAs/GaN/SiC; no production-scale manufacturing yet operational.status
2026-07-15Vacuum induction melting and remelting → Demonstrated · MIDHANI has achieved CEMILAC certification for VIM-produced superalloys (March 2026) and delivered certified cast sticks to HAL, but production remains limited and downstream processes (VAR/ESR) are less developed domestically.status
2026-07-15Large marine diesel engine → Emerging · A government-funded R&D programme with Kirloskar Oil Engines (announced April 2025) is developing a 6 MW prototype with >50% indigenous content, targeting delivery by April 2028; no production scale capability yet exists.status
2026-07-15Indigenous avionics-grade microprocessor → Emerging · SHAKTI 64-bit RISC-V aerospace chip successfully booted in Feb 2025 by IIT Madras & ISRO, but remains in prototype/demonstration phase; no production aircraft avionics systems use indigenous core processors.status
2026-07-15SiC substrate manufacturing → Emerging · SiCSem and RIR Power Electronics have government approval and funding; SiCSem groundbreaking occurred November 2025, RIR targeting epitaxy by December 2025, but neither has yet begun production at scale.status
2026-07-15Atomic layer deposition and etch equipment → No capability · India sources 85%+ of all semiconductor equipment from global suppliers; no evidence of any indigenous ALD or ALE equipment manufacturing programme or prototype.status
2026-07-15Process design kit (PDK) → Emerging · India has launched a silicon photonics PDK (April 2026) and operates an SCL 180nm PDK, but both are narrowly scoped; full competitiveness requires PDKs for multiple technology nodes and commercial-grade production readiness.status
2026-07-15GaN epitaxial growth (MOCVD) → Emerging · India has demonstrated prototype GaN HEMT design and small-volume device production via DRDO/GAETEC, plus one pre-commercial Crystal Matrix project approved for foundry services, but no production-scale MOCVD epitaxy facility operational domestically.status
2026-07-15Full-scale flight test & certification infrastructure → Emerging · India has operational flight-test centers (National Flight Test Centre, HAL facilities) supporting existing programmes like Tejas, and is actively building new integrated centres (Puttaparthi AIFTC) for next-gen aircraft, but certification processes remain dependent on external expertise.status
2026-07-15Aerostructure composite manufacturing → Producing · HAL, NAL, and private firms manufacture composite aerostructures for Tejas at real scale; L&T delivers composite wings, centre fuselages are produced with indigenous processes (Carbon-BMI), and systems like DRDO's quartz-composite radome are in production validation.status
2026-07-15Aerospace-grade superalloy & titanium manufacturing → Demonstrated · Working domestic production exists—MIDHANI delivers certified superalloys to HAL (March 2026); PTC/Aerolloy operates world's largest single-site titanium plant (6,000 t/a capacity, October 2025)—but at modest volumes and untested at full commercial scale against global competitors.status
2026-07-15High-pressure compressor aerodynamics → Emerging · DRDO has demonstrated HPC drum forging capability and component manufacturing, but full aerodynamic design and multi-stage transonic compressor performance remain unproven at combat engine scale; AHTCE HPC trials now underway.status
2026-07-15High-altitude engine test facility → Emerging · A 130 kN ground test facility nearing completion at Rajankunte (expected operational by October 2025) but lacks full high-altitude altitude-simulation capability; National Aero Engine Test Complex (NAETC) announced March 2026 as planned future facility with high-altitude component.status
2026-07-15Combustor and combustion technology → Emerging · GTRE has conducted combustor design, testing, and demonstrated capability via Kaveri engine (annular combustor with air-blast atomiser tested extensively), and through scramjet combustor success, but no production-grade civil or military combustor for fighter engines has achieved operational deployment.status