SOURCE: AFI
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a stringent deadline to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to deliver 18 Tejas Mk1A and Tejas Trainer aircraft by March 2025, marking a significant escalation in pressure on the state-owned aerospace giant. HAL has been grappling with substantial delays in the production and delivery of the light combat aircraft, with the first Tejas Mk1A only taking to air only in March of this year.
A primary culprit behind the production setbacks has been the shortage of engines supplied by GE Aerospace. To mitigate this issue, GE Aerospace has pledged to deliver two engines per month starting from September, which is anticipated to alleviate the supply constraint. HAL intends to allocate these new engines to the production of fresh aircraft while utilizing a stockpile of reserved engines to fulfill the MoD’s mandated delivery schedule.
Encouragingly, progress has been made with at least two single-seater Tejas Mk1A jets are ready with 4 more nearing completion, and six Tejas Trainer aircraft in various stages of production or nearing delivery to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
HAL is now under immense pressure to ramp up production and streamline its supply chain to meet the MoD’s expectations. Failure to deliver the stipulated number of aircraft by the March 2025 deadline could have severe consequences for the state-owned aerospace giant.