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SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG

India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A program faces setbacks due to supply chain constraints impacting GE Aerospace’s production of the F404 engines. While GE aims to resume deliveries of the first batch of engines next month, achieving the annual production rate of 16 engines, as per the agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), is expected to take significantly longer.

Industry sources close to idrw.org report that GE Aerospace might require an entire year to reach the contracted production rate. The company acknowledges the challenges and anticipates improvement by mid-2025, but a full capacity of 90% is not expected until the end of 2025, with normal operations resuming only in 2026.

This delay has a direct impact on the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) plans for the Tejas Mk1A. The IAF’s proposal for 97 additional aircraft hinges on GE Aerospace’s ability to deliver at least 24 F404 engines annually from 2026 onwards.

To address this bottleneck, discussions are planned in the coming months to explore possibilities of accelerating GE’s production ramp-up by 2026. If GE commits to this revised timeline, the deal for the additional 97 Tejas Mk1A could be finalized by the end of 2024, with deliveries commencing in late 2026.

However, if a production increase by 2026 proves unfeasible, the IAF and HAL might be forced to delay the procurement of additional Tejas Mk1A jets until 2025.

This situation highlights the critical role of a robust supply chain in defence projects. The Tejas Mk1A program is a crucial step towards India’s self-reliance in fighter jet production. Addressing the engine supply constraints will be essential to ensure the program meets its full potential and equips the IAF with its indigenously developed fighter jets as per schedule.

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