The delivery of GE Aerospace’s F404-IN20 engines to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) marks a critical turning point for the TEJAS MK-1A program, which has struggled to maintain schedule fidelity due to delays in engine supply and certification bottlenecks. The third engine from the 99 ordered in 2021 has now reached HAL’s Bangalore production complex, with the fourth set to arrive by the end of September and six more expected during the October–December quarter.
This delivery rhythm suggests increasing momentum in stabilising engine supplies from the United States, which, if sustained, could allow HAL to finally adhere to its target of producing and delivering 10 MK-1As in the current financial year (2025-26).
HAL currently has nine fighters structurally complete, three of which are already integrated with supplied engines, while six airframes await incoming power-plants. Officials indicate that based on present inventory, HAL is preparing to deliver the first two TEJAS MK-1As to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in October, as long as the final rounds of weapon trials—including ASRAAM firings and Astra beyond-visual-range missile integration checks—are certified in time by CEMILAC.
A fourth is due to reach India before the end of September and six more are scheduled to follow in the October–December 2025 quarter. This pipeline gives HAL the engines it needs to integrate with a batch of already completed airframes, three of which are awaiting weapon trials before delivery.
The timing of these deliveries is strategically significant. The IAF is at a crucial operational juncture with the last of the MiG-21 Bison fleet being retired on 26 September 2025, ending a 62-year service history of the Soviet-origin legacy platform.
The TEJAS MK-1A is expected to backfill some of this gap, though its delayed induction has heightened concerns about squadron strength. The IAF currently operates around 30 combat squadrons against an authorised figure of 42.5, leaving it well short of its combat readiness mandate.
Senior defence planners, including the defence secretary-led empowered committee, concluded earlier this year that the IAF needs to induct approximately 40 fighters annually to maintain a robust posture, a rate far beyond current delivery capacity.
HAL’s stated production ceiling for the TEJAS MK-1A is 24 aircraft per year, contingent on unhindered engine inflows from GE. Given that GE is expected to send 20 additional engines in 2026, production throughput could be maintained provided the US supply chain—stressed earlier by order restarts and global resource constraints—remains consistent.
