New Delhi/Jodhpur: The delivery of the Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF) could be further delayed because a key component of the aircraft—engine charge amplifier—that was meant to be imported from Denmark has been put on an export blacklist by it, ThePrint has learnt.
This would be over and above the ongoing delay of several months because of the non-delivery of engines by American engine maker General Electric (GE) and the time taken for certain iterations (changes) of the Israeli software installed in the aircraft.
About the charge amplifiers, sources in the defence establishment told ThePrint that while the Ministry of Defence has taken up the issue with Denmark via the Indian embassy, state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which manufactures the fighters, has already contracted a local firm to indigenise the product.
Sources also said that while these amplifiers are fitted on board the previous generation of Tejas in service with the IAF, the contract for the 83 LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Mk-1As remains unfilled.
Asked why, a source said, “Denmark authorities have put export restrictions on this item, which is likely to be due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. We have taken up the issue through our Indian mission there.”
According to sources, HAL is working to ensure that the indigenisation is completed.
“It was a small product which was being imported. But now, because of this export blacklisting, HAL has contracted a Bengaluru firm to indigenise it. The firm, we are told, has almost completed it, and then HAL will carry out tests. It can then be mass produced,” a second source said.
HAL expects the process to be completed sooner than expected and is hopeful of delivering the initial lot of aircraft with some charge amplifiers that came in under the previous contract.
Sources explained that although it is a very small item, the engine charge amplifier is an important element which measures the temperature of the engine and acts accordingly.
ThePrint had first reported in March this year that the delivery of the aircraft will be delayed because iterations were needed in the software and a key part, which was to be imported from a foreign country, had not come. The charge amplifier was the part that was referred to in ThePrint’s report, but there was no confirmation about the exact details at that time.
“The engine delay is the larger problem behind which key issues are hiding. Even if GE would have delivered the engine in March, the aircraft would still not have been delivered,” a third source said, describing the seriousness of the issue.
The sources said that it is hoped that the Denmark government will give India a breather or that the indigenisation process and testing phase do not consume time.
As reported by ThePrint last week, after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh discussed the issue with the US during his visit to Washington in August, GE has assured India of a fresh delivery schedule, starting November this year, for the F404-IN20 engines.
GE has promised two engines per month and assured that the overall delivery schedule would not be pushed. The firm had explained to the defence ministry that there were global supply chain issues and that it usually takes time for new vendors to be duly certified since parts have to undergo various tests.
According to the contract signed in 2021, HAL was to start the delivery of the aircraft from March this year and has to deliver 16 aircraft per year. No aircraft has been delivered yet and now, the hope is that the first one would be delivered either by the end of October or November.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also Read: Egypt out military shopping, eyes Tejas and Dhruv as high-level delegation visits HAL