IAF chief says long delays in production of fighters 'are going to hurt'

Air Chief Marshal A P Singh added that the Indian Air Force should have a squadron strength of 36-40 until it is increased

Air Chief Marshal A P Singh said on Saturday that delays in the domestic production of fighter jets might have consequences for the Indian Air Force (IAF). 

Although some delays are expected as part of the process of building fighter jets, “this time the delay is significant”, he said about a Tejas programme that is running two years behind schedule. 

“This is going to hurt us,” Singh said in New Delhi while addressing the annual news conference ahead of the IAF’s founding day (October 8). 

Contracted to defence monolith Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in 2021, the first lot of 83 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets was originally scheduled to be delivered to the IAF in March 2024, but not a single aircraft has been handed over to date. Production was earlier slowed by delays in the delivery of US company GE Aerospace’s F404 (IN20) engines. GE, which has blamed pandemic-era supply-chain constraints, has delivered 10 since 2021. Until recently, HAL was reportedly yet to complete the weapons integration and radar fixes on the jets. 

 

Beyond the large orders it has placed for Mk-1A, the IAF is looking at Tejas Mk-2 (the prototype’s maiden flight is scheduled for 2027) and the advanced medium combat aircraft (Amca) programmes to meet its future demand. 

“All these programmes need to be pushed with the whole-of-nation approach — and that is being done,” Singh said. 

The IAF needs to induct two aircraft squadrons on average each year to have a strength of 36–40 until it is increased. The MiG-21 squadron was decommissioned last year, although the ageing fleet could have been grounded two to three years earlier, he said. 

In the past, analysts have said, the IAF has been functioning at a far lower squadron strength than the optimal number of 42.

“We have to look at some (other) platforms, if there are delays in Amca,” Singh said, adding that no decision has been made yet. 

The Amca programme aims to make India’s first fifth-generation stealth fighter jet. Singh did not say whether India was considering buying foreign fifth-generation aircraft such as the Russian-made Su-57 or the US-made F-35, which is participating, for the first time, in the IAF’s ongoing Tarang Shakti exercise in Rajasthan. 

He said India’s newly announced aeroengine co-production project will boost its self-reliance. 

China has two fifth-generation aircraft, and Pakistan is reportedly buying them from China and being trained by it. 

Singh said such news is a cause for concern but not something that will affect the overall balance of power in the region. 

On the integrated theatre commands proposal, presented to the government by former Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan (retired) and reportedly expected to be updated by his successor, General N S Raja Subramani, Singh said the IAF is not against the idea and has been working towards it — “we have been part of the discussion throughout” — but after Operation Sindoor, the armed forces could take a look at the proposal again, based on last year’s first-hand experiences. Most discussions were conducted before April–May 2025.