Involve private sector to speed up fighter jet production: Panel

An empowered committee of the Ministry of Defence has recommended including the private sector to bolster capacities of defence public sector undertakings (DPSUs) to produce more fighter jets quickly.

This comes just three days after the IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, flagged the need for making 35-40 jets every year to tide over the crisis the force is facing or could face with further depletion of the fleet after 2029-2030.

Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh presented the report of the Empowered Committee for Capability Enhancement of the IAF to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today.

The ministry said the committee had identified key thrust areas and made recommendations for implementation in the short, medium and long term to achieve the desired capability enhancement goals of the lAF in an optimal manner.

“The report also underscores the need for an impetus to enhance ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in the aerospace domain with the private sector complementing the effort of the DPSUs and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO),” the ministry said.

The Defence Minister has directed that the recommendations should be followed up in a time-bound manner.

The minister had tasked the high-powered committee with suggesting a way forward on sluggish production of fighter jets. This included the option of greater participation of the private sector.

The committee has recommended that the DRDO, DPSUs and the private sector should work together to achieve the desired goals with enhanced ‘Aatmanirbharta’.

The committee was chaired by the Defence Secretary with the Vice Chief of the IAF, the Secretary, Defence Production, the Chairman, DRDO, and the DG, Acquisition, as its members.

The committee looked at how the deliveries of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which had been assigned the contract to make 83 Tejas Mark1A jets, were delayed by over a year.

One of the reasons for the delay in jet production was the failure of US firm General Electric to supply its ‘F-404’ engine to power the Tejas jet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has flagged the matter to US President Donald Trump.

“The delayed delivery of GE engines was taken up during the PM’s visit. We remain engaged with the US on all aspects relating to defence articles, including timely deliveries,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had stated on February 21.