The defence ministry could award Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) a contract for 97 more TEJAS light combat aircraft (TEJAS MK-1A)
The defence ministry could award Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) a contract for 97 more TEJAS light combat aircraft (TEJAS MK-1A) to strengthen the Indian Air Force’s capabilities by end of the year, officials aware of the matter said on Monday.
The contract is estimated to be worth ₹67,000 crore. The upcoming deal will be the second order for the TEJAS MK-1A after the ministry awarded HAL a ₹48,000-crore contract for 83 such aircraft in February 2021.
In April, the ministry issued a tender to State-run plane maker for the proposed acquisition of 97 more TEJAS MK-1As. “The TEJAS MK-1As are an integral part of the IAF’s modernisation. The acquisition is on track, and it should go for CCS (cabinet committee of security) approval in December,” said one of the officials cited above, who asked not to be named.
The development comes at a time when a question mark hangs over HAL’s ability to meet the delivery timeline of the TEJAS MK-1As already on order. IAF will have to wait longer for the first aircraft that was supposed to be delivered by March 31, 2024, as reported by HT on August 1.
The first aircraft is likely to be delivered to the air force only in November 2024. After missing the March 31 deadline, HAL hoped to deliver the first aircraft in July but again revised it to a later date in August.
IAF is unhappy with the current pace of the TEJAS MK-1A program because of the possible risks the delay in the induction of new fighter planes could pose to the air force’s combat effectiveness, and has flagged the hot-button issue to HAL, calling for timely execution of the ₹48,000-crore contract.
HAL said at the time it will deliver 16 of these fighters to IAF in FY 2024-25 as per schedule. It also said it hoped to deliver all the 83 aircraft on order by 2028-29. The TEJAS MK-1A made its maiden sortie from an HAL facility in Bangalore on March 28.
Many in the air force are sceptical about the TEJAS MK-1A deadlines being met, and one of the main reasons for that is the lingering delay in the supply of the F404 engines to HAL by US firm GE Aerospace. The delivery of the engines is delayed by around 10 months. Also, the certification of new systems in the aircraft is still pending.
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The single-engine MK-1A will be a replacement for the IAF’s Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter. TEJAS MK-1A is an advanced variant of the TEJAS MK-1, which has already been inducted by IAF.
US engine maker GE Aerospace earlier told HT that it is working with HAL to fix issues related to the delay in the supply of its F404 engines for the TEJAS MK-1A program, attributing it to supply chain bottlenecks in the aerospace industry.
HAL has set up a new production line in Nashik for TEJAS MK-1As to meet IAF’s growing needs. HAL says it can build 16 TEJAS MK-1As every year in Bangalore, and the Nashik line will help it ramp up production to 24 jets.
IAF has already inducted 35 of the 40 TEJAS MK-1s ordered earlier. These are in the initial operational clearance (IOC) and the more advanced final operational clearance (FOC) configurations –– the first variants of TEJAS.
The TEJAS MK-1 is among the locally produced platforms being showcased at the ongoing Tarang Shakti 2024 exercise, the biggest multilateral air combat drills to be hosted by India. Ten foreign air forces are taking part in the exercise, while 18 countries are participating as observers.
Agencies
