New Delhi: The first lot of the Tejas MK 1A, which was to be delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in March 2024, is likely to be inducted latest only by June-July this year, a delay of over two years, ThePrint has learnt.
The timeline is the best case scenario, sources in the defence and security establishment said, even though the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) officially said Thursday that five aircraft are ready for induction.
Incidentally, HAL is yet to deliver two of the remaining order of 8 Tejas trainer aircraft as well, an order that was placed in 2010.
Contrary to the claims by HAL, defence sources say there still are several issues.
It is learnt that HAL in its meetings with the IAF has pushed for acceptance of the aircraft in its current form with promises to finish off the pending work subsequently.
Sources said that there is “some” work that remains to be completed by the HAL and the IAF is clear that it will only accept the aircraft when it fully meets the Air Staff Quality Requirements (ASQR).
The pending work, sources added, can be divided into three categories—minor, major, and not acceptable. They also said that there are integration issues that are still not resolved with regard to some systems including the radar.
Told that the weapons trial has been completed and radar integrated, the sources said “radar has to be in sync with other systems too and not just weapons release”, indicating that the full integration is yet to be completed.
They added that once everything is completed, the certification will happen, followed by acceptance trials conducted by the IAF.
IAF sources said that if HAL says their aircraft are fully ready and meet all the quality checks, it will initiate the acceptance trial the next day itself. The acceptance trial generally takes about a month.
“We are waiting for these aircraft to come in. They are supposed to become the backbone of our fighter squadron,” a source said.
There are several IAF test pilots who are part of the Tejas project and are working with HAL to ensure that the work is completed sooner.
What the HAL statement says
The HAL in a statement to the stock exchange and on X said it wishes to clarify the status of LCA MK 1A deliveries to the customer for all stakeholders. “HAL confirms that five aircraft are fully ready for delivery, incorporating major contracted capabilities in accordance with the agreed specifications.”
It added: “An additional nine aircraft have already been built and flown. Upon receipt of engines from GE, these aircraft will be made ready for delivery. All design and development issues identified are being addressed in an expedited manner.”
“HAL is in active discussions with the Indian Air Force to deliver the aircraft at the earliest. HAL has received five engines from GE as on date. The supply position from GE is positive, and the future delivery outlook aligns with HAL’s delivery plans,” the statement further said.
Sources explained that the HAL statement itself reveals where the programme is at this moment. “HAL claims five aircraft are ready ‘incorporating major contracted capabilities in accordance with the agreed specifications’. This means that as per them, major contracted capabilities have been completed but what they term as minor, remains,” said a source.
“It (HAL statement) also added that ‘all design and development issues identified are being addressed in an expedited manner’. This clearly shows that there are design and development issues which need to be addressed. Then how come five aircraft are ready for induction,” the source added.
On 3 February 2021, when the deal for 83 Tejas Mk1A was signed, ThePrint had reported that the biggest worry for the IAF was the delivery of aircraft on schedule.
Since then, HAL has gone on the record multiple times giving various timelines which have not been met.
HAL has maintained that the main issue has been the delay by American firm General Electric in supplying the F404-IN20 engine that powers the fighters.
However, ThePrint had in July 2024 reported quoting sources that the “engine is the larger problem behind which all other issues are hidden”.
(Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)
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