After retiring MiG-21 jets last month, the Indian Air Force (IAF) reportedly faces an acute shortage of fighter aircraft. Delays in the delivery of Tejas Mark 1-A aircraft complicate IAF’s problem but things should turn for the better on October 17. That’s when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will witness the factory rollout of a Tejas Mark1-A jet from a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in Nashik, The Hindu reported on October 9.
HAL was to begin delivering of 83 Tejas aircraft to the IAF in February last year, but is waiting to get enough F404 engines from General Electric (GE) Aerospace of the United States.
According to a report in The Tribune, HAL has a $716-million contract with GE for 99 F404 engines. The American company was supposed to start supplying 16 engines annually from April 2023, but says the commitment was delayed because it had to “reengage” its global supply chain for HAL’s “additional” order. It has now committed to deliver 12 engines this year and 20 annually later.
"By 2016, GE Aerospace fulfilled its commitment to HAL and delivered 65 F404-IN20 engines for the Tejas LCA [light combat aircraft]. With no additional engine orders on the horizon, the production line for F404-IN20 was shut down. However, when HAL ordered an additional 99 engines in 2021 for the Tejas Mk1A LCA, our team began the complex task of restarting the F404-IN20 production line, which had been dormant for five years, and re-engaging the engine’s global supply chain,” said GE in a statement in March.
Now, HAL expects to complete Tejas Mark 1-A deliveries in four years. The Defence Ministry and HAL last month signed another deal worth Rs 62,370 crore for 97 more jets. HAL hopes to increase the jet’s annual production to 24 from 16.
Reports have said that HAL will sign a contract with GE for 130 F404 engines required for the additional 97 Tejas Mark1-A jets.
Why is Tejas Mark 1A special?
The Tejas Mark 1A variant introduces over 40 upgrades compared to the earlier Mark 1 version.
The upgraded fighter features an advanced avionics suite built around the Israeli EL/M-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, with later units to fly with the indigenous Uttam AESA radar.
It is equipped with the DARE Unified Electronic Warfare Suite, an externally mounted self-protection jammer that enhances survivability, as well as in-flight refuelling capability and an Onboard Oxygen Generation System to extend mission endurance.
Its weapons package includes the Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) and the UK-origin ASRAAM missile, with two ASRAAMs integrated for deployment on this variant.
HAL will also equip the aircraft with an indigenously developed Combined Interrogator and Transponder, supported by a digital map generator that allows mission maps to be displayed directly in the cockpit.
 "HAL's fighter jet delivery timeline moves closer to commitment")
