Aug 14 (Reuters) - Reliance Industries said on

Friday it planned to partner with Britain's Rolls-Royce

to develop and manufacture an engine for India's fighter jet

programme, as the country aims to build its most advanced

stealth combat aircraft.

A prototype of the jet, known as the Advanced Medium Combat

Aircraft, is expected to roll out in 2028 and play a key role in

India's future air combat strategy.

Last year, India approved a framework to build its most

advanced stealth fighter jet and invited interest from defence

firms, weeks after a military conflict with nuclear-armed

neighbour Pakistan.

In a move to reduce its dependence on imported defence

equipment, the country also opened the door for domestic

companies to participate in developing the twin-engine stealth

fighter, approving the execution model for the Advanced Medium

Combat Aircraft (AMCA) programme.

Under the proposed partnership announced on Friday, Reliance

and Rolls-Royce will explore forming a dedicated aerospace gas

turbine complex in India to jointly develop the engine.

"Our intent with Rolls-Royce is to combine their

world-leading expertise in advanced propulsion with Reliance's

technology, manufacturing, scale and execution capabilities to

build an indigenous aero-engine ecosystem in India," Reliance

Executive Director Anant Ambani said in a statement.

The announcement potentially positions the British

aero-engine maker against France's Safran, which has

separately proposed a joint venture with India's state-run GTRE

to develop a higher-thrust engine for later versions of the AMCA

fighter.

Hindustan Aeronautics manufactures the

4.5-generation Tejas fighter jet, but has faced slow engine

deliveries from General Electric ( GE ) due to supply chain

issues faced by the U.S. firm.

Rolls-Royce, which has previously worked with India on

military propulsion programmes, supplies engines for a range of

defence and civil aerospace applications.

($1 = 95.4250 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Abinaya V and Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru and

Aftab Ahmed in New Delhi; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Vijay

Kishore)