HAL to start trial of new Tejas fighter jet in January next yr

State-run plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is set to begin in January 2025 critical trials on the new Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A), involving the testing of the indigenous Astra beyond-visual-range missile, the aircraft’s locally made electronic warfare suite and the Israeli Elta radar, as it now targets a March 31 deadline to deliver the first fighter jet to the Indian Air Force after completing the necessary certification requirements, senior officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday24 Dec.  Simultaneously, HAL is in talks with US firm GE Aerospace to expedite the delivery of the F404 engines for the new aircraft, with top Indian officials visiting America earlier this month to get a first-hand assessment of the 404 production line that has been restarted at a facility near Boston, the officials said, asking not to be named.

GE has not committed to a delivery schedule for the 99 engines on order, but the US engine maker indicated to the Indian delegation, led by HAL chief DK Sunil, that the production issues have been resolved and the supply of the first units could begin in March 2025, HT has learnt.

The first few LCA Mk-1As are expected to be delivered to the IAF with reserve engines that will be replaced with the F404s as and when GE begins supplying them. “The upcoming Astra missile firing, the electronic warfare suite testing and the ongoing software updates on the new systems are the final processes before HAL can deliver the first LCA Mk-1A to the IAF, which wants the aircraft to be delivered with a certain capability. The project has been plagued by some delays, but HAL has the capability and capacity to catch-up in production once the F404 engines start coming in,” said one of the officials cited above. The electronic warfare suite consists of the radar warning receiver and the advanced self-protection jammer.

The first aircraft will be delivered to the IAF in the desired configuration by March 31, he added. The IAF is concerned about the current pace of the LCA Mk-1A programme because of the possible risks a delay in the induction of new fighter planes could pose to the air force’s combat effectiveness. The air force ordered 83 Mk-1A fighters for ₹48,000 crore in February 2021 and plans to buy 97 more Mk-1As at a cost of around ₹67,000 crore.

The first aircraft was to be delivered to the IAF by March 31, 2024, but that didn’t happen due to a combination of factors including delays in some key certifications and GE’s inability to supply the engines on time. The US firm should have delivered six engines to HAL in the financial year 2023-24.

“GE had stopped the F404 production line at Lynn in Massachusetts a few years ago. When they restarted that production line there were some issues related to the certification of parts and components. Those issues have been fixed. HAL officials also held talks with GE’s critical vendors earlier this month, and things seem to be on track now,” said a second official.  To be sure, there is still no clarity on the final delivery schedule though both GE and HAL are optimistic about the early supply of engines after the latest round of talks. HAL will keep building the planes and delivering them to the IAF with Category B engines (reserve ones), which will be replaced by the F404s when they arrive.

Replacement does not take time, but the numbers that GE can deliver every year will be clear only after the first engine rolls out of the production line in Massachusetts, said the first official.