India's Advanced Tejas MkII Fighter Jet Prepares for Takeoff

India's aerospace industry is set to reach new heights with the upcoming first flight of the Tejas MkII, a cutting-edge fighter aircraft developed entirely within the nation.

Scheduled for the end of 2025, this technologically advanced 17.5-ton aircraft promises to strengthen India's defense capabilities significantly.

Ambitions and Production Goals​

The Tejas MkII program underscores India's determination to become a leader in defense technology. The Indian Air Force (IAF) initially planned for 108 Tejas MkII fighters.

Now, recent reports indicate this number could double to 200 aircraft, demonstrating strong confidence in the program's potential. Production of the Tejas MkII is expected to begin in the early 2030s.

Progress and Timeline​

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has made significant strides in the development of the Tejas MkII. The wing assembly has been completed, and the jet's assembly is scheduled to start later in 2024. This progress puts the aircraft on track for its highly anticipated inaugural flight by late 2025 or early 2026.

Evolving India's Air Force​

Once its development is complete, the Tejas MkII will replace the aging MiG-29UPG and Mirage-2000 fighters currently used by the Indian Air Force. This modernization, starting around 2030, will ensure India's continued air superiority, equipped with a fleet of domestically produced, state-of-the-art fighter aircraft.

Key Upgrade: Increased Payload​

The Tejas MkII stands apart from its predecessors with its increased size and weight. This allows for a heavier payload capacity, meaning the fighter jet can carry a more powerful and diverse array of weapons and equipment, making it a potent force on the battlefield.

Looking Ahead​

The Tejas MkII project signals India's continued commitment to bolstering its indigenous defense manufacturing capabilities. The aircraft's success will enhance India's strategic independence and position the country as a major player in the global aerospace industry.

 

[sanket]

Again most important is will Tejas 83+97 LCA Tejas order would complete by 2030 so that Tejas MK2 can b produce second since GE 414 Engine is going to b Assemble / Joint production with ToT in India Can the production Reach 24 to 30 by 2030

 

[Frank]

Great. Now order 300 Tejas mk2 and say bye bye to MRFA phoren mall

Repeating say bye bye to phoren maal

 

[Deepak Hegde]

Again most important is will Tejas 83+97 LCA Tejas order would complete by 2030 so that Tejas MK2 can b produce second since GE 414 Engine is going to b Assemble / Joint production with ToT in India Can the production Reach 24 to 30 by 2030

73_97 by 2030 ? Ghanta. Pachaas bhi nikle toh Ganga naha liye !!

 

[Deepak Hegde]

Great. Now order 300 Tejas mk2 and say bye bye to MRFA phoren mall

Repeating say bye bye to phoren maal

Yeah, order 300 Tejas Mk2 and say goodbye to funds and deliveries as they will be Ram bharose. No same person will depend on HAL only for deliveries.

 

[kumar]

If only private sector had shown interest in AMCA spv, they would have reaped large order benefits. But then, they wanted easy way out trying to push build to print projects.

 

[Anant]

Again most important is will Tejas 83+97 LCA Tejas order would complete by 2030 so that Tejas MK2 can b produce second since GE 414 Engine is going to b Assemble / Joint production with ToT in India Can the production Reach 24 to 30 by 2030

180 Tejas order completed by 2030? Boss, we are in 2024, not 2004. Completing that order by 2030 would require, on average, 30 aircraft per year, which is significantly more than we presently have the capacity for.

 

[Anant]

Great. Now order 300 Tejas mk2 and say bye bye to MRFA phoren mall

Repeating say bye bye to phoren maal

Yes, let's order 300 Tejas Mk 2 and cancel everything else. When we are doing that, we'll also book you a train / flight ticket to Bangalore so you can work your magic and galvanize the whole supply chain to the point where HAL can deliver 30 jets a year. Sounds good?

 

[Anant]

If only private sector had shown interest in AMCA spv, they would have reaped large order benefits. But then, they wanted easy way out trying to push build to print projects.

Why on Earth should they show interest if they have a large potential for loss? Remember that private companies answer to shareholders. Those shareholders won't be happy if the company heads into something and does not make a profit out of it.

If the government, HAL, and other parties were willing to assuage some concerns, then they might show interest. Oh, and the government does need to release a formal tender for the SPV with those terms.

 

[Chand Ashok]

This is shameful. I don't understand how laggard HAL is not taken to task by GOI & IAF. Tejas mk 2 may be ready for induction by 2030 & may take 7-8 yrs more to induct by 2037. However by than Top powers may be inducting 6th gen fighters and even litoral states may induct 5th gen fighters making 4.5 gen fighters as junk like we have no takers for MIG-21 presently. Today the World is looking to graduate to 5th gen fighters with even late entrants like Turkey & South Korea slated to induct indigenous 5th gen fighters by 2030, India is woefully slow. Since the first flight of Tejas mk-2 is slated in 2025, Govt should firmly instructor HALto speed up entire process reducing time gap between development & induction stage. The induction of Tejas mk-2 should be preponed to 2027 bringing in private sector to complete induction of first batch of 108 fighters within 5 yrs by 2032. HAL must utilize private sector to set up 3-4 big assembly lines that can be utilised to speed up induction in other fighter projects as well like AMCA & TEDBF.

 

[BnglrTester]

This is shameful. I don't understand how laggard HAL is not taken to task by GOI & IAF. Tejas mk 2 may be ready for induction by 2030 & may take 7-8 yrs more to induct by 2037. However by than Top powers may be inducting 6th gen fighters and even litoral states may induct 5th gen fighters making 4.5 gen fighters as junk like we have no takers for MIG-21 presently. Today the World is looking to graduate to 5th gen fighters with even late entrants like Turkey & South Korea slated to induct indigenous 5th gen fighters by 2030, India is woefully slow. Since the first flight of Tejas mk-2 is slated in 2025, Govt should firmly instructor HALto speed up entire process reducing time gap between development & induction stage. The induction of Tejas mk-2 should be preponed to 2027 bringing in private sector to complete induction of first batch of 108 fighters within 5 yrs by 2032. HAL must utilize private sector to set up 3-4 big assembly lines that can be utilised to speed up induction in other fighter projects as well like AMCA & TEDBF.

I am not sure if you know the difference between HAL , ADA, ADE and GTRE etc. FYI HAL is a production agency. They do not design or develop these aircrafts.

 

[Vijigishu ( विजिग्शु )]

This is shameful. I don't understand how laggard HAL is not taken to task by GOI & IAF. Tejas mk 2 may be ready for induction by 2030 & may take 7-8 yrs more to induct by 2037. However by than Top powers may be inducting 6th gen fighters and even litoral states may induct 5th gen fighters making 4.5 gen fighters as junk like we have no takers for MIG-21 presently. Today the World is looking to graduate to 5th gen fighters with even late entrants like Turkey & South Korea slated to induct indigenous 5th gen fighters by 2030, India is woefully slow. Since the first flight of Tejas mk-2 is slated in 2025, Govt should firmly instructor HALto speed up entire process reducing time gap between development & induction stage. The induction of Tejas mk-2 should be preponed to 2027 bringing in private sector to complete induction of first batch of 108 fighters within 5 yrs by 2032. HAL must utilize private sector to set up 3-4 big assembly lines that can be utilised to speed up induction in other fighter projects as well like AMCA & TEDBF.

Only solution is to fully privatise HAL with govt share down to < 49%.

 

[Anant]

This is shameful. I don't understand how laggard HAL is not taken to task by GOI & IAF. Tejas mk 2 may be ready for induction by 2030 & may take 7-8 yrs more to induct by 2037. However by than Top powers may be inducting 6th gen fighters and even litoral states may induct 5th gen fighters making 4.5 gen fighters as junk like we have no takers for MIG-21 presently. Today the World is looking to graduate to 5th gen fighters with even late entrants like Turkey & South Korea slated to induct indigenous 5th gen fighters by 2030, India is woefully slow. Since the first flight of Tejas mk-2 is slated in 2025, Govt should firmly instructor HALto speed up entire process reducing time gap between development & induction stage. The induction of Tejas mk-2 should be preponed to 2027 bringing in private sector to complete induction of first batch of 108 fighters within 5 yrs by 2032. HAL must utilize private sector to set up 3-4 big assembly lines that can be utilised to speed up induction in other fighter projects as well like AMCA & TEDBF.

Not happening. Do you realise what you are asking for? Even if you can somehow complete all trials of the Tejas Mk 2 by 2027-28 (by some miracle), completing the delivery of 108 jets by 2032 would require, on average, 27 jets a year. That is almost an entire order of magnitude higher than what HAL achieves. And it is a new jet to boot, so a lot of problems will emerge in production.

 

[Alok]

This is shameful. I don't understand how laggard HAL is not taken to task by GOI & IAF. Tejas mk 2 may be ready for induction by 2030 & may take 7-8 yrs more to induct by 2037. However by than Top powers may be inducting 6th gen fighters and even litoral states may induct 5th gen fighters making 4.5 gen fighters as junk like we have no takers for MIG-21 presently. Today the World is looking to graduate to 5th gen fighters with even late entrants like Turkey & South Korea slated to induct indigenous 5th gen fighters by 2030, India is woefully slow. Since the first flight of Tejas mk-2 is slated in 2025, Govt should firmly instructor HALto speed up entire process reducing time gap between development & induction stage. The induction of Tejas mk-2 should be preponed to 2027 bringing in private sector to complete induction of first batch of 108 fighters within 5 yrs by 2032. HAL must utilize private sector to set up 3-4 big assembly lines that can be utilised to speed up induction in other fighter projects as well like AMCA & TEDBF.

But we built state of the art Ram Mandir in record time, didn't we? Now Ram will protect us from all enemies..

 

[Torontodude]

This is shameful. I don't understand how laggard HAL is not taken to task by GOI & IAF. Tejas mk 2 may be ready for induction by 2030 & may take 7-8 yrs more to induct by 2037. However by than Top powers may be inducting 6th gen fighters and even litoral states may induct 5th gen fighters making 4.5 gen fighters as junk like we have no takers for MIG-21 presently. Today the World is looking to graduate to 5th gen fighters with even late entrants like Turkey & South Korea slated to induct indigenous 5th gen fighters by 2030, India is woefully slow. Since the first flight of Tejas mk-2 is slated in 2025, Govt should firmly instructor HALto speed up entire process reducing time gap between development & induction stage. The induction of Tejas mk-2 should be preponed to 2027 bringing in private sector to complete induction of first batch of 108 fighters within 5 yrs by 2032. HAL must utilize private sector to set up 3-4 big assembly lines that can be utilised to speed up induction in other fighter projects as well like AMCA & TEDBF.

Before we take a dump on HAL, let's look at two questions: where is the order from IAF, and where are the funds?
Indian Military and MoD take longer to process a requirement from GSQR to Order Placement, than it takes HAL or other arms entities to build. Maybe a slight exaggeration but my point stands

 

[Arz786]

I think at present the possibilities are as follows:

1. LCA Mark 1A (83 aircrafts) delivery should be completed by 2029
2. LCA Mark 1A (97 aircrafts) delivery may be completed by 2034 ( assuming HAL delivers 24 aircrafts per year that they have promised).
3. LCA Mk-2 delivery should start from 2030 but a new production line needs to be set up since existing production lines for LCA Mk 1A will be busy fulfilling 97 aircrafts order. 108 LCA Mk-2 delivery should be completed by 2035 so that Jaguar/ MIG 29/ Mirage 2K phase out does not leave big gap. But there is a possibility of time overrun. More LCA Mk-2 should immediately follow.
4. AMCA may be ready to enter series production from 2035/2036.
5. MRFA : Local assembly without putting any strain on HAL's current and expected commitments is preferred. MRFA (114 aircrafts) should be in service by 2035 ( at least that should be the goal).

I may be wrong. But if the above scenario plays out, that would be alright.

 

[Frank]

Yes, let's order 300 Tejas Mk 2 and cancel everything else. When we are doing that, we'll also book you a train / flight ticket to Bangalore so you can work your magic and galvanize the whole supply chain to the point where HAL can deliver 30 jets a year. Sounds good?

300 mk2 Tejas cost less than 114 Rafale...

Use brain.

When Tejas mk2 production start mk1 delivery will complete

 

[Anant]

300 mk2 Tejas cost less than 114 Rafale...

Use brain.

When Tejas mk2 production start mk1 delivery will complete

Before you go about your usual habit of throwing about insults without actually stopping and thinking, consider this (and yes, I know that sounds paradoxical given what I started with):

There is no doubt that the Tejas Mk 2 would be cheaper. How cheaper it would be is another matter. However, there is also no denying that we do not have the production ecosystem ready to deliver 50+ jets (including Tejas Mk 1A, Tejas Mk 2, and AMCA) each year, which might be what is needed. HAL's suppliers can probably manage enough for HAL to promise 16 or 24 a year. For HAL to promise 50 jets a tear, they would have to ensure literally hundreds of suppliers can deliver 60-70 items a year (when they might be delivering 30 or so now). That isn't as easy as it sounds, and logically speaking, these jets would have a lot of common components.

It isn't just about giving the order and the jets magically appearing. There is a lot of planning that needs to go into this.

To add to that, if you go along the lines of having these suppliers increase their capacity to a point where HAL can manage 40-50 jets a year, you can either do it in a cost-effective manner (which would take years to fully materialise), or you can do it by cost-crashing. In the first case, you would have a major lead time before production scales up, and in the latter, your cost will have increased and you would have lost atleast a large chunk of the savings we discussed at the start.