Onus on HAL to deliver jets on time

A latest decision to procure 97 more Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets for the Indian Air Force now puts the onus on public sector giant and plane maker, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), to deliver these jets on time.

HAL’s speed in manufacturing will be decisive in keeping the IAF battle-ready while India’s target of self-reliance, called ‘Atmanirbhar’, hinges of how the plane maker performs.

Ongoing delays, at the HAL, in producing fighter jets has slowed down induction of new jets into the IAF. The HAL, though public listed, is largely owned by the MoD.

With the decision to start production of 97 more jets, there is cumulative order of 180 Tejas Mark- 1A jets to be produced in two tranches. The first tranche of 83 such jets was ordered by the MoD in February 2021 under Rs 48,000 crore order. These 97 jets are in addition to the 83 aircraft and are expected to cost about Rs 1.15 lakh crore.

Requirement and delays

Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh in February this year said the IAF needs 35-40 fighter jets each year to fill existing gaps and to factor in the phasing out of older fleets.

The HAL, at present, has an installed capacity of producing 24 jets annually. It would take seven years to make these 180 jets if the installed capacity is fully utilised. Producing 24 planes annually is easier said than done.

Delays of the past have been crippling for building IAF’s strength. Delivery of the 83 jets was scheduled to commence in March 2024, so far not a single plane has been inducted into the IAF. Top-management at the HAL has assured of delivering at least 12 jets this fiscal.

Hurdles also come from outside

The plane maker is facing a crisis of securing F-404 engines from US company General Electric (GE). These power the Tejas Mark-1A.

In 2021, the GE signed a $716 million contract with the HAL to supply 99 F404 engines. Supplies were to start in April 2023 at the rate of 16 engines a year, but so far only two engines have come.

The GE has assured it will provide 10 engines this year and has promised 20 engines from the next year onwards. During better days of India-US ties, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally raised the issue with US President Donald Trump.

HAL is now aggregating for speed

Private players have been roped in for supplying critical airframe structures and components for the Tejas Mark-1A. The HAL integrates these at its facilities. Larsen & Toubro (L&T) manufactures the wings for the plane; Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) is supplying the fin and rudder assemblies; VEM technologies is making the centre fuselage; Alpha Tocol Engineering Services is supplying the rear fuselage; and Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW) is supplying air intake assemblies.

Why Tejas Mark 1A is needed quickly

It will help the IAF to replace its fleet of MiG-21s, which are finally being phased out next month. The IAF presently has 31 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 last two squadrons of the MiG-21 are scheduled to retire next month and would bring down the strength to 29 squadrons, the lowest combat strength of the IAF in the past six decades.

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