Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is preparing to hand over the first two TEJAS MK-1A fighter aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) next month, but the milestone remains contingent on the successful completion of crucial weapon integration trials scheduled for later this month.
The tests will cover Astra beyond-visual-range missiles, advanced short-range air-to-air missiles, and precision-guided munitions such as laser-guided bombs, integrated with the aircraft’s new Israeli Elta ELM-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and upgraded fire-control systems.
The trials have become pivotal following earlier setbacks, when software-related issues disrupted missile-firing validation, forcing HAL and its partners to initiate a round of software
redesigns and re-integration. Clearance from these forthcoming trials will effectively determine whether the first two aircraft, earmarked for delivery, can formally enter IAF service by October.
The TEJAS MK-1A program has endured persistent disruptions, primarily rooted in delayed engine supplies from General Electric of the United States. Under a ₹5,375-crore contract signed in August 2021, GE committed to deliver 99 F404-IN20 turbofan engines for the first batch of 83 MK-1A aircraft.
However, deliveries are running almost two years behind schedule. Thus far, only two engines have been supplied, while GE has assured HAL that 10 further units will arrive by March 2026, with full-scale annual deliveries of 20 engines commencing thereafter. The slow inflow of engines has placed hard limits on HAL’s manufacturing tempo, further compounded by technical challenges relating to radar and weapon system integration.
For the IAF, these delays present acute structural risks. Having inducted 38 of the 40 TEJAS Mark-1 fighters from earlier contracts worth ₹8,802 crore, the Air Force was scheduled to begin receiving improved MK-1A variants under a ₹46,898-crore deal for 83 fighters placed in February 2021.
Deliveries were originally slated to begin in February 2024 and conclude by February 2028. As of today, not a single airframe from that order has been formally inducted, with production effectively stalled pending engine arrivals and integration checks.
The urgency of the program has further increased after the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) recently cleared an additional order for 97 TEJAS MK-1A aircraft, valued at ₹66,500 crore, intended to build domestic strength and secure long-term future force levels.
This continuing lag starkly contrasts with IAF operational imperatives. Former Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and, more recently, Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh have both highlighted HAL’s slow execution publicly and underscored the urgent need for a cadence of at least 40 new fighters annually to maintain the combat edge required for a two-front wartime scenario.
Instead, squadron strength is slipping to unprecedented lows. By the end of September, the IAF will retire the last 36 MiG-21 fighters still in service, cutting total fighter squadrons to just 29 — the smallest operational fleet in the Force’s history. This figure is far below the sanctioned strength of 42.5 fighter squadrons deemed necessary to sustain deterrence and defence readiness against concurrent threats from both Pakistan and China.
In operational terms, the gap between sanctioned squadron strength and available assets is expected to persist for several years, with MK-1A deliveries unlikely to reach stable serial production until well beyond 2026.
Even with accelerated induction thereafter, the lag will coincide with the retirement of legacy fleets like the MiG-29, Jaguar, and Mirage-2000 through the late 2020s, further deepening the deficit. This complicates Indian air defence and deterrence planning at a time of expanding Chinese deployments in the Western Theatre Command and Pakistan’s effort to modernise its fleet with J-10CE and JF-17 Block-III fighters.
