New Delhi: Defence Secretary R K Singh said on August 30 said that two Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets are likely to be delivered next month by the state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The government is likely to ink a fresh contract with HAL for procuring an additional batch of 97 Tejas jets after the delivery of the two aircraft, he added.
Concerns over delays in the delivery of the Tejas Mark 1A jets under a previous contract have been flagged by the Indian Air Force. “Hopefully, the first two of those will be delivered with weapons integration by the end of September,” Singh said at the NDTV Defence Summit. The defence secretary said about 38 Tejas jets are already in service and another 80-odd are being manufactured.
The defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for the procurement of 83 Tejas Mk-1A jets for the IAF in February 2021. The delivery of the jets is facing delays primarily due to the US defence major GE Aerospace missing several deadlines for the supply of its aero engines to power the jets.
An additional batch of 97 Tejas fighters at a cost of around Rs 67,000 crore was approved by the government last week. “I have made it clear to HAL that we will sign this contract only after HAL delivers two Tejas featuring a complete package,” Singh said on the additional procurement.
The defence secretary said HAL “will have an order book for four to five years”. “Hopefully, they (HAL) will be able to perfect this platform, integrate the radar and Indian weapons, so that it becomes a workhorse for us along with the Sukhoi,” he said.
“There will still be a gap and for that gap we will have to look at some other options,” defence secretary R K Singh said while referring to the procurement of more platforms for the Indian Air Force.
Capable of operating in high-threat air environments, Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft designed to undertake the air defence, maritime reconnaissance and strike roles. The Tejas Mk-1A will be a replacement for the IAF’s MiG-21 fighters. The number of IAF’s fighter squadrons has gone down to 31 from the officially sanctioned strength of 42.
