GE Gears Up for F-404 Engine Deliveries to India with Two Scheduled for Shipment This Month

GE Aerospace is poised to begin delivering F-404 engines to India this month, with two engines already scheduled for shipment. This development is expected to significantly accelerate the production of Tejas light combat aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The US aerospace giant has committed to delivering an additional six F-404 engines by the end of March 2025. This timely supply will enable HAL to provide at least eight Tejas Mk1 Trainer and Mk1A jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF) within the same timeframe.

HAL is not waiting idly, having already completed five Tejas Mk1 Trainer aircraft with three more nearing completion by year-end. An additional three are slated for completion by March 2025. The first Tejas Mk1A has also been manufactured, with three more awaiting the new engines.

In a move to optimize aircraft performance, HAL plans to replace the Grade B engines on some Tejas Mk1 Trainers with new ones before their final delivery to the IAF. This strategic decision highlights HAL's commitment to delivering top-tier aircraft.

The prompt delivery of F-404 engines by GE Aerospace is pivotal in ramping up Tejas production and fulfilling the IAF’s requirements. This progress marks a significant stride towards spearheading India's Tejas Mk1A production.

 

[vamkris]

India shall take the help of Safran and rolls royce

 

[Dredd]

It will be a BRAND NEW Tejas jet with RD93MA engines. Cannot use MK1 or MK1A platform for these engines....

Alternate engine can only be EJ-2000 and nothing else.

 

[Invi Pass]

No indigenous engine means aircraft will not fly if there is sanction. Period.

 

[Mahesh rathi]

When the US does business with us they have very strict penalty clauses . Remember Enron agreement ? Where we may have had to even sell our Parliament to meet our commitment agreement to buy at a particular price indexed. So powerful their agreements were. We have nothing . No penalties that if they delay delivery or if their engines fail technically they will have to pay us half a billion dollars every month. Dum hai kya , aisa agreement banane ka ?

 

[Double Tap]

India shall take the help of Safran and rolls royce

both france and uk are vassal states of USA you would get same treatment

 

[Koorma]

Vaaah. Only 2 engines and so much happiness.

 

[amerjit johal]

India shall take the help of Safran and rolls royce

Should have taken the help of RR or Safran from day one

 

[Ayyadurai Namasivayam]

This happens when recruitments are made through quota systems due to reservations. How can you get good engineers??

Disagree with you. All the good engineers are going to MNCs for their job . Do not talk quota . I am from south India. My state has BCs and SCs over 80%. and we provided reservations for them. My state is one of the leading state in india in social development , education and industrial development . Our state people contribute considerably to ISRO and DRDO. If all caste people are in equal state. Then there is no need for reservations. But still not that much. Improvements. In my state it has improved lot but in other state still it is not improved. I can see a thousands of migrant workers coming to my state for working as labourers in hotels , industries for low wage . So it is not because of reservations

 

[ramdas]

WOW , these people are living in some bygone era while others are making rapid progress in deploying 5th gen fighters and laying foundation for 6th gen. Appreciate the Chinese even though hostile to India are 50 years ahead of us

 

[tipoo2]

There is no kaveri, kaveri in current form is useless

Kaveri dry lacks afterburner, it's fine enough for something like the Ghatak drone

 

[tipoo2]

with these two engines india will defeat china

Haters will say it's not true

 

[Ankit Shakya]

JUST HOLD YOUR BREATH FOR SOME FAALTOO LAST MINUTE CHANGES!!!! Still, it is a very good idea to develop Tejas MK1B using RD93MA engines and also, ORCA-TEF-Tejas-Naval for IAF and IN two versions using made in India by HAL Khorapur factory RD33MK Sea Wasp engines.

It amazes me how people who have never done any actual engineering work keeps making all these comments on engine changes. An engine change will lead to structural changes (unless the dimensions of engine being replaced have similar dimensions) in the aircraft airframe and one needs to re do all sort of modifications to maintain the flight envelope. This will again lead to lots of delays.

 

[Sandeep]

WOW , these people are living in some bygone era while others are making rapid progress in deploying 5th gen fighters and laying foundation for 6th gen. Appreciate the Chinese even though hostile to India are 50 years ahead of us

Actually they only got ahead because of copying or stealing the technology. Also their jets are not really 5th generation at all. Our 20yr old Sukhoi could clearly see their so called stealth jet across the LAC. Just by sticking a name on something doesn’t make it a reality.

 

[Sandeep]

with these two engines india will defeat china

We can win by using our nuclear weapons. All it takes is a well timed and well placed saturated nuclear attack on their capital when their senior leaders and top command are all present.

 

[vickram 007]

RD93 engines will require ADA certification. Lots of dumb people here commenting that HAL gets to choose the engine

 

[Sandeep]

I think there needs to be an investigation done by CAG, and a white paper needs to be released to media on every major defence project. Why delay happened, who is responsible, how much money went where???

Responsibility needs to be fixed. Otherwise blame game will keep on happening, and public will remain idiots.

How can we force GE to supply an engine when they are having supply chain issues or whatever issues themselves? The engines and contract were signed which is legally binding. What investigation are you going to do from our side when we have no jurisdiction in the USA?

Not everything in life can be controlled by our government and not everything is their fault. So what’s a joke?

 

[Sandeep]

Whatever the reason for the delay India should keep producing the jets and install an engine whenever they come here. Ideally we should make a deal to manufacture the GE 404 engines in India as in total we will be using 200 Tejas MK1A jets and on average over a 30-40 year period the jet will use at least 3-4 engines so the total requirement is 600-800 engines. We will also need to setup its MRO facilities anyway so we should make a long term deal with GE.

The other alternative is to buy and import 200 F404 engines off the shelf from GE. Then we can replace them with the F414 engines which will give it more speed and power when the F404 engines have completed their lifespan. With the F414 engine we get 80% of the technology and manufacture that amount with indigenous content. Also it’s possible that with any upgrades to the jets technology and equipment the Tejas MK1A will need an engine upgrade sooner or later. If we need to make some minor modifications to the jet and its air frames to fit the F414 engine then it’s better to do that.

 

[pankaj gupta]

Our need is so large that all the options should be exercised to achieve our minimum inventory levels

 

[Anant]

We can win by using our nuclear weapons. All it takes is a well timed and well placed saturated nuclear attack on their capital when their senior leaders and top command are all present.

And practically all nuclear powers have some form of fall-back system in case of a decapitation strike such as the one you suggested. No one wins if you use nukes.

 

[Debunk007]

HAL and Co have been working hard since 1985 to produce the Kaveri engine. Can't u guys have some "patience" ? 😂😅