MoD Confirms 'No Penalty' Imposed on GE for Delaying F404 Engines of Tejas Mk1A

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) today clarified that no penalties have been imposed on General Electric (GE) for delays in the delivery of F404 engines for the Tejas Mk1A Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

This statement comes in response to recent media reports suggesting that GE was facing penalties due to the delayed delivery of these critical components.

The MoD emphasized that the contract for the engines is between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and GE, and there were no proposals under consideration to penalize GE. This clarification aligns with earlier reports from sources close to the matter who indicated that HAL, recognizing the strategic importance of its partnership with GE, chose not to enforce the penalty clauses in the contract.

While acknowledging the delays, the MoD highlighted that the issue was addressed during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's recent visit to Washington, resulting in a revised delivery schedule from GE.

The delays, attributed to supply chain disruptions, particularly the bankruptcy of a key South Korean parts supplier, have pushed the engine delivery timeline to March 2025. This is a significant setback from the original target of 2023, as per the $716 million deal signed between HAL and GE in 2021 for 99 F404 engines.

Despite these setbacks, the MoD emphasized that India remains committed to the Tejas program. Production continues to meet Indian Air Force requirements, with 14 airframes and integrated systems expected to be completed this financial year.

The decision to forego penalties underscores the long-term strategic relationship between HAL and GE, particularly concerning future engine requirements for the Tejas program. Sources suggest that HAL is prioritizing cooperation with GE for the procurement of F414 engines, which will power the advanced Tejas MkII variant.

Furthermore, ongoing negotiations for a transfer of technology (ToT) agreement to facilitate local production of the F414 engines are a crucial factor in this decision.

 

[R. Singh]

Ink deal to make GE-404 engines along with GE-414 for un interrupted fighter jet program !

 

[subrat beura]

Don't fine them,go for merging Kaveri with M-88 core,you got 90KN thrust, Safran will charge you something for this one time,you will get your own engine forever. Americans are trying to puncture Indian advanced fighter jet program

 

[Muthu.Kumar]

Come on, entire world knows that India can NEVER EVER EVER EVER penalize a US company. Is this a newsworthy item ??

Excuse me, we have the GREATEST HISTORY of officially protecting and safely escorting the CEO of the American company, which was the culprit of the Bopal tragedy, back to America, without letting him face Indian legal system.

Can such a "BRAVE INDIA" penalize an American company ???

YEAH IN YOUR WILDEST DREAMS.

 

[pocket]

Procurement in defense is a sensitive topic. We should have had 2 different suppliers or even 3 . It's not easy but should have been tried at prototype stage the Tejas so that variant engines could be used and learnt from. Sometimes we don't even learn from what happened to gnat and Marut.. ... if the iaf is clamouring for fighters and numbers atleast make in India could have been great.... make in India sounds good but it's not made in India

 

[abhinav srivastava]

Time to consider TEDBF equivalent for IAF based on kaveri. Put it under fast track.

 

[NSR]

I say that supply chain management is a real culprit and it is worthwhile to give a pass to GE for this slip up with a warning that future delays will not be tolerated.

Also, it is suicidal or torching one's own head, under the present Tejas IA fighter production of 200+ Tejas IAs for IAF and exports, to hurt GE's profits and let it suffer and become bitter.

Also remember that Dassault owes 50% of offsets to India under 36 Rafale contracts but were not fulfilled at all.

Neither did Boeing for C-17s and LM for C-130Js too, but these companies are producing all kinds of aerospace products in India to be used in their projects, and that is a positive thing for Indian aerospace infrastructure.

So be kind and let it go for this time.

 

[Vf Feb]

Avoid penalties on GE404-IN20 but ask for more TOT workshare in GE-414INS6 engine as a leverage ..Simple dynamics

 

[kurtwallis wallis]

Time to consider TEDBF equivalent for IAF based on kaveri. Put it under fast track.

There is NO ANY Kaveri engine working properly still dude... Can use RD33MK Sea Wasp engines made in India by HAL instead....

 

[Rinku Pandey]

Good decision taken by GOI. Any penalty would have derailed our mk1A,2, AMCA (initial ones) which are all based on GE engine. What do you do when you don't have any plan B?

 

[Kira]

I say that supply chain management is a real culprit and it is worthwhile to give a pass to GE for this slip up with a warning that future delays will not be tolerated.

I don't think that engine delay by itself is the reason for any Tejas production for delays, as HAL can rather easily fit in the engines later. They can easily assemble the rest of the airframe and other components first.

 

[NSR]

I don't think that engine delay by itself is the reason for any Tejas production for delays, as HAL can rather easily fit in the engines later. They can easily assemble the rest of the airframe and other components first.

Agree. I did write the similar comments lately.
I did ask posters to write as to how many Tejas IAs has been manufactured except for the GE engine but no one wrote anything.

HAL can try to manufacture the GE F-404s in India to avoid this kind of situation in future.

 

[Kira]

Agree. I did write the similar comments lately.
I did ask posters to write as to how many Tejas IAs has been manufactured except for the GE engine but no one wrote anything.

HAL can try to manufacture the GE F-404s in India to avoid this kind of situation in future.

Perhaps with time, HAL and other Indian firms can manufacture the F-404 engines in India, but I still think they won't be entirely immune from global supply chains as due to many commercial and IP factors, many components of that engine would still be sourced from outside.

Also, I think both HAL and GE are more focused on delivering on the F-414 engines, a it's the future rather than just building additional F-404s here.

I believe that GE not only only suffered from supply chains issue since COVID, but also failed to see additional 97 orders for the MK-1A.

Folks are saying that this is politically motivated,but I don't think that is the case here, as even though the US is not above arm twisting when it comes to hardware, but I believe they desparately want to cultivate India as a big market not only for their gear, but also to wean the country away from long time supplier Russia and act as a bulwark against PRC.