Maiden flight of Tejas Mark-1A jet on October 17: HAL

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), public sector plane maker, on Friday said the Tejas Mark-1A fighter jet will make its maiden flight from a facility in Nasik on October 17.

Also, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate the third production line of jet – the first two lines are in Bengaluru.

The plane’s maiden flight is expected to pave the way for induction of these jets into the Indian Air Force. Deliveries are presently 18-months behind schedule.

Though HAL is a listed company, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) holds a majority stake.

The MoD had signed two separate contracts with HAL for producing 180 of the Tejas Mark- 1A jets. The first contract for Rs 48,000 crore was inked in January 2021 for the supply of 83 jets. Last month, the MoD signed another contract for procurement of 97 Tejas Mark-1A for Rs 62,370 crore.

The contract for 97 jets is in addition to the 83 aircraft already ordered, making it a collective order of 180 Tejas Mark 1A jets. 

In the latest contract, the government has made a firm push towards self-reliance, the aircraft will have an indigenous content of almost 64 per cent, with 67 additional items incorporated, over and above the previous contract of the 83 jets of the same plane signed in January 2021. The integration of advanced indigenously developed systems such as the ‘Uttam' Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, electronic protection suite will further strengthen the Aatmanirbharta initiatives.

HAL is facing a delay in supply of F-404 engines for the Tejas Mark-1A from US company General Electric. Almost a dozen jets are ready at the HAL facility, but only four engines have been supplied by the GE, so far. In turn, this has meant not a single jet has been delivered to IAF, which is battling a dwindling combat strength. Deliveries should have commenced in March 2024 and the engines should have started coming a year prior to that date.

Tejas programme is to help the IAF to replace its fleet of MiG- 21s, which were finally being phased at ceremony at Chandigarh, last month.

Separately, the IAF already has 40 Tejas Mark1 jets.

The IAF presently has 29 squadrons (16-18 planes each) of fighter jets against the mandate of 42 to tackle a collusive two-front threat against Pakistan and China.

The IAF’s fleets of Jaguar, MiG-29 and Mirage 2000, all inducted in phases during the 1980s, are slated to retire in batches beyond 2029-30. These four types of jets are about 230-250 in number and are presently operating on an extended life cycle.

According to the plan, India needs to produce some 500 fighter jets for the IAF in the next two decades.