HAL Chief Hails Rs 66,500-Cr Deal for 97 Tejas Mk1A, Says Govt Is Truly 'Walking the Talk on Atmanirbharta'

In a major boost to India's indigenous military aviation sector, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has secured its largest-ever single contract, valued at approximately Rs 66,500 crore.

The state-owned aerospace giant signed the landmark agreement with the Ministry of Defence on Wednesday to supply an additional 97 LCA Tejas Mk1A fighter jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Dr. D.K. Sunil, the Chairman and Managing Director of HAL, described the event as a "red-letter day" for the company.

He emphasised that this substantial follow-on order serves as a powerful testament to the government's unwavering confidence in the nation's home-grown fighter aircraft program and its broader policy of self-reliance in the defence sector.

Highlighting the significance of the deal for India's self-reliance initiative, or 'Atmanirbharta', Dr. Sunil stated that the project demonstrates how the government is actively supporting the domestic defence ecosystem.

"The work HAL is doing and the ecosystem we are building... it is an excellent example of how the government is walking the talk of atmanirbharta," he remarked. He noted that the order would create numerous jobs and stimulate growth not only within HAL but also across its network of partner industries.

A key feature of this new order is the commitment to increase the aircraft's indigenous content to 70 per cent.

This advanced variant of the Tejas will be equipped with critical systems developed in India, including the state-of-the-art 'Uttam' Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar and a sophisticated electronic warfare suite.

This focus on local components is set to strengthen the domestic supply chain and reduce dependency on foreign suppliers.

The agreement covers the production of 68 single-seat fighter variants and 29 twin-seat trainers, which are crucial for preparing the next generation of IAF pilots.

This new contract significantly surpasses the previous order placed in January 2021, which was for 83 Tejas Mk1A jets at a cost of Rs 46,898 crore.

According to officials, the delivery of these new aircraft is scheduled to commence in the 2027-28 financial year and will be completed over a period of six years.

To power the new fleet, HAL has also finalised a deal with U.S.-based General Electric (GE) for 113 F404 engines.

While acknowledging some past delays in engine delivery, Dr. Sunil expressed confidence in resolving these issues.

He confirmed that GE is addressing its supply chain challenges and has committed to ramping up production to meet HAL's requirements, with improved communication between the top management of both companies.

The induction of these 97 Tejas Mk1A jets is a critical step in the IAF's modernisation plan, primarily to replace its ageing squadrons of MiG-21 aircraft and to boost its overall combat capability.

 

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[MohitG]

The 97 Tejas deal ( Total 180 ) will only be effective if

1. GE-F404 engines are delivered on time.

2. SELF RELIANCE IN JET ENGINE is obtained ASAP.

 

[Snowstrike]

Interesting! Didn't realize the HAL Chairman's side-hustle is to be a propagandist. The Tejas Mk1a isn't any shining example of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', its just another great example of short-termist chest-beating. With a tiny payload nowhere near adversaries, it doesn't even make up for it in EW like the Gripen does. It's entire EW comes from one pod, the EL/M-8222, which is, of course, imported from Israel. The first batch of them will also have imported radars. Again, from Israel. If building an empty husk which has no indigenous internals (the brain of the aircraft) is 'walking the talk on Atmanirbharta', we have truly fallen to new lows. The Tejas mk1a's EW isn't anything near modern either. It is extremely weak, and outclassed by every modern plane in the market. It's supposed 'cost efficiency' is a bad point too, since paying approx. 72 mil (logistics, spares, training included) just for it to get shot down within minutes of an engagement is not anything impressive. But of course, our MoD and HAL are more than happy to throw around money that they don't have, thump their chest, and proclaim 'Atmanirbhar Bharat!' to everyone.

 

[Mc Addy]

Yes, somehow get the engines made here please .do whatever,beg ,borrow or steal as that engine is a major headache and once solved , can do a a lot of work .