SOURCE: AFI
India’s Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has called on U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to fast-track the delivery of GE F404 engines for the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), a critical component delayed by over two years. The appeal was made during a bilateral meeting on Tuesday, as reported by The Print. Singh emphasized the urgency of resolving the delay, which has impacted India’s efforts to bolster its air force capabilities amid growing regional security challenges.
The GE F404-IN20 engine, manufactured by General Electric, powers the Tejas Mk-1 and Mk-1A variants of India’s homegrown fighter jet. The lightweight, single-engine aircraft, developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), is a cornerstone of India’s push for self-reliance in defense manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative. However, delays in the delivery of these engines have hampered production timelines, creating a bottleneck for the Indian Air Force (IAF), which is keen to induct more Tejas jets to modernize its aging fleet.
According to The Print, the Defence Minister conveyed to Hegseth that “the delivery of engines is a big issue for us” and stressed that it “needed to be delivered on an urgent basis.” The delay, which has persisted for over two years, has slowed down HAL’s ability to meet the IAF’s demand for Tejas aircraft, with 83 Mk-1A jets ordered in a ?48,000 crore deal in 2021 and additional orders in the pipeline.
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