Two weeks after a public rebuke of HAL by the Indian Air Force chief that went viral both online as well as in India’s security establishment, the Ministry of Defence has reportedly set up a top-level committee to rapidly recommend a formula by which deliveries of 83 Tejas Mk1A fighters can be speeded up, streamlined. The focus of this formula is expected to be getting HAL to yield some of its workshare to private sector companies that currently supply HAL with assembled fuselage parts of the Tejas airframe, but could potentially be the operators of a full separate production line going forward.
At the centre of this squeeze is a 2021 order for 83 Tejas Mk1A fighters, deliveries of which were to begin in early 2024. A crippling delay in the supply of American-built GE F404 turbofan engines — the first is yet to arrive — and what the IAF chief basically pronounced a lack of energy and focus by HAL in his public scolding, has meant a year’s delay in the jets, a serious blow to squadron planning and readiness. With things finally moving, a handful of fighters will be delivered to the IAF soon. But ramping up the production rate to a desired 24 aircraft or more per year is where the current bottleneck lies. And that’s why the new committee.
HAL Chairman and Managing Director D.K. Sunil said in a recent interview that he was targeting a production rate of 30 per year by 2027, something he hoped to achieved by using as much private sector capacity as possible. The MoD Committee will be formalising this approach and likely providing a timebound action plan on how to execute. As things stand, a handful of private sector companies already build fuselage assemblies for HAL, including VEM Technologies, L&T, Tata and Dynamatics. It is likely that one of these companies will get to operate a full separate Tejas Mk1A production line — a historic first in the country.
In what is a test of its principal customer’s faith, HAL will also be hoping for clarity on an additional order for 97 Tejas Mk1A fighters, which Sunil says could happen in the next 3-6 months.
Reports this morning also suggest that an earlier MoD Committee, set up under the leadership of the Defence Secretary, could provide finality on how India’s fifth generation stealth fighter program AMCA is to be executed. In 2020, Livefist had scooped early plans on a special purpose vehicle (SPV) approach underpinning a public-private partnership between HAL, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and a private sector giant to develop, test and build the AMCA. That push has meandered without a decision for over four years. It is understood that the MoD Committee will bite the bullet on next steps in this crucial project amidst the swirling pressures of the gap with China in stealth next generation fighters and the diplomatic quandary over U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer of F-35 Lightning II jets to India.