Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has verified the supply of at least six Tejas multirole combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force in March next year, addressing military concerns over the program’s setback in shipments.
Signed in 2021, the initiative aims to deliver 83 Tejas jets in their latest Mk-1A variant, with HAL planning to deliver 16 to 24 aircraft annually from June 2025.
The state-owned defense company attributed the delays to US-based GE Aerospace, the fleet’s F404 engine supplier, which was unable to meet timelines due to the COVID pandemic and the subsequent workforce decrease.
“Every company goes through its fair share of criticisms. It does happen,” local news agency The Economic Times reported, citing HAL Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Dinesh Kumar Sunil.
“But the engine deliveries have not happened from GE Aerospace. They were to deliver the engines in 2023. Till date, we have got only one engine.”
Sunil highlighted that HAL and GE have already resolved the hold-up, with the American firm to deliver 12 F404 systems by March 2026.
“I can assure you that as of today, six aircraft are ready,” Sunil explained.
“There is no let up from our side. We are building those aircraft and getting them ready and we will be in a position to deliver.”
In addition to the 83-Tejas order, New Delhi is in the process of procuring 97 additional jets from HAL through the 2030s.
Upon induction, the new fleet will gradually replace the Indian Air Force’s MiG-21 Fishbed fleet, operational since the Soviet era.
The Tejas Mk-1A System
HAL’s Tejas Mk-1A is a 13-meter (43-foot) fighter jet with a wingspan of 8 meters (26 feet).
It can be armed with a 23-millimeter twin-barrel cannon, precision munitions, unguided bombs, and multi-domain missiles.
The platform has a top speed of Mach 1.8 (2,223 kilometers/1,381 miles per hour), a range of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles), and a service ceiling of 16,000 meters (52,493 feet).
