Tejas Source Code Sharing with Private Firms Key to Make 144 Jets Per Year: Expert

Renowned defence analyst Bharat Karnad has issued a clarion call for the Indian government to take decisive action in accelerating the production of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

In his recent column, Karnad, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, advocates for a bold strategy to break free from India's dependence on foreign military equipment.

Karnad's proposal centers on transferring the Tejas source codes from the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to private sector giants like L&T, Tata, and Mahindra Aerospace.

He further suggests that the government should offer substantial incentives, such as tax holidays, to these companies to establish multiple production lines for the Tejas 1A and subsequent models, as well as the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The aim is to achieve an annual production rate of 144 Tejas aircraft, fulfilling the entire requirement of the Indian Air Force within three years. Karnad believes this approach will address the chronic delays and bottlenecks that have plagued India's defence manufacturing sector.

By harnessing the capabilities of the private sector and providing the necessary incentives, the government can expedite the production of the Tejas and reduce the nation's reliance on foreign military equipment.

Karnad's call for action comes amidst a leadership transition at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with Dr. DK Sunil, a seasoned engineer, expected to take the helm.

Karnad highlights the historical challenges faced by HAL, including the underutilization of indigenous designs like the HF-71 Marut, in favor of foreign imports.

He cautions against repeating past mistakes and emphasizes the need for HAL to acknowledge its limitations and collaborate with the private sector to achieve the desired production goals.

The urgency of Karnad's proposal is underscored by the rapid advancements in aerospace technology. With 6th generation combat aircraft on the horizon, India cannot afford to fall behind.

Karnad's vision is to see India emerge as a self-reliant aerospace power, capable of meeting its defence needs and competing in the global market. He believes that involving the private sector and incentivizing production is the key to unlocking India's full potential in the aerospace industry.

 

[GMR]

Key is the engine. Focus should be rather on Kaveri by GOI, declaring it as a national project.. opening up the coffers, hiring best minds from India & abroad...

 

[sanket]

144 engines will come from as follows

16 will come from GE as you said.

rest will come from,

as the Adani Ambani TATA Mahindra wants to start their own Tejas manufacturing plant, it should be left to them to procure engines as it is their idea to start new Tejas line. If they can get engines from GE, RR or Safran, which can power Tejas without any problems, than that will be Excellent. It should be left to them to decide. Government should fix a floor price for the Tejas. Any company which can supply the complete Tejas at that price, they are welcome.

if they are not able to do anything and don't want to invest anything, they should not interfere with the operation of HAL. Doing so will be marked as anti national activity.

well i was saying from past few months GE should Ramp up production of Aero-Engines atleast 30 per year , knowing HAL is increasing its production Rate, second Follow-on order expeted f additional 97 Tejas but GE havent take any step Thirs GE Failed to deliver 99 GE-404 Engine delivery on time & missed 3 deadline , Fourth after production is over & assembly line goes idle is it going to b viable for pvt players , Just F-18 production Line is going to become idle & they were expecting 26 Naval order & what about AESA Radar not only Engines how pvt players will deliver 144 Jets without AESA Radar .................??? Even dassault dont have 50 plus production rate by August 2024

 

[Instant Karma]

well i was saying from past few months GE should Ramp up production of Aero-Engines atleast 30 per year , knowing HAL is increasing its production Rate, second Follow-on order expeted f additional 97 Tejas but GE havent take any step Thirs GE Failed to deliver 99 GE-404 Engine delivery on time & missed 3 deadline , Fourth after production is over & assembly line goes idle is it going to b viable for pvt players , Just F-18 production Line is going to become idle & they were expecting 26 Naval order & what about AESA Radar not only Engines how pvt players will deliver 144 Jets without AESA Radar .................??? Even dassault dont have 50 plus production rate by August 2024

GE present production line is very much busy supplying engines for the F 16 supply to Ukraine. If GE will be able to supply 12 engines to HAL, that will be great. We should make Tejas compatible for EJ 200 engines and start local manufacturing of The RR engines. That will solve all our problems.

 

[Prodyut]

1. The entire design is to be independently audited.for weight and producibility along with teh IAF. 2, A salvage plan- if possible- is to be prepared - and HAL must execute it. 3.The systems of the Tejas are quite good and can be worked into a HF 24/F 404/Kaveri airframe. It is the most politically correct solution. The HF 24 has both teh volume and finesse to give a easy solution- assuming good engineering accumen.4. ADA should be debarred forthwith from designing any further aircraft. This 4 is most important, IP of the Tejas mk2 and AMCA to be re-examined by a fresh board.and design control must be taken over by a private sector. They may not have much design expe3rience but they have common sense. It appears ADA has neither.

 

[desigandu]

Total of 144 aircraft annually? Did Mr. Karnad take the scale of orders necessary for that? Did he take the inevitable supply chain challenges into account?

Aircraft manufacturing isn't as easy as saying "One line can manage 16 aircraft annually, so 10 lines will manage 160."

Good idea, but will cost money, will take time and will not produce 144…If we can get to 40-50 planes per year it will be great…bottlenecks especially the engines may be the biggest roadblock…But if GOI is willing to invest big $s it is doable, and of course needed…

 

[abhinav srivastava]

Let pvt companies start with trainer jets first. Let them build expertise and gain experience other wise it will be a khichdi.

 

[Sentoki]

This is the only best option to fasten things up, but HAL allow?.

Tejas design is not HAL's intellectual property. They are only the manufacturer. The IP belongs to ADA/DRDO which means the government can share with a private company IF IT WANTS TO. The question is will the government do it?

 

[Sentoki]

Better idea is to privatize HAL.

Privatizing HAL will not bear results overnight because it is unionized and entrenched in Sarkari mindset of people management where seniority is rewarded over performance & potential.

These cannot be changed overnight even with privatization.

 

[gautham]

144 engines will come from as follows

16 will come from GE as you said.

rest will come from,

as the Adani Ambani TATA Mahindra wants to start their own Tejas manufacturing plant, it should be left to them to procure engines as it is their idea to start new Tejas line. If they can get engines from GE, RR or Safran, which can power Tejas without any problems, than that will be Excellent. It should be left to them to decide. Government should fix a floor price for the Tejas. Any company which can supply the complete Tejas at that price, they are welcome.

if they are not able to do anything and don't want to invest anything, they should not interfere with the operation of HAL. Doing so will be marked as anti national activity.

Current versions of Tejas are designed to be fitted and operated only with GE F404/F414. It will take another 4 years to redesign Tejas to use any other engine of a different thrust and weight.

 

[gautham]

Real question is, why can't HAL deliver the trainer jets for which engines had been supplied a long time back?

HAL, its employees and unions are lethargic white elephants with no real intent or sense of national security or urgency.

 

[tipoo2]

From where they will get engines? GE will not supply the engines so fast that another new Tejas line can be sustained. The present HAL lines are capable of building 32 Tejas for year but GE can only supply 18 Engines per year. Seems that the Bharat Kanard is the fool of the century.

The delays are temporary, the decades of excuses from a government led firm are forever. GE also isn't going to make us a top priority with tiny chicken orders.

 

[Instant Karma]

The delays are temporary, the decades of excuses from a government led firm are forever. GE also isn't going to make us a top priority with tiny chicken orders.

GE problems are not going to resolve very soon. Because due to the heavy use of fighters planes by the USA in Europe and south China sea, they need many engines for their own use. Apart from that the new war in Israel has made matters most worse. If war with Iran start, then all engine supplies to India will completely stop as GE will not be able to supply engines to India anymore. That will be the time, when China will attack India. Because all supply of engine from USA for Tejas and engine from Russia for SU 30 will completely stop. That is why we should need to completely indeginise the su30 and the Tejas programme. 100% everything must be made in India.

 

[PKPRS]

Tejas design is not HAL's intellectual property. They are only the manufacturer. The IP belongs to ADA/DRDO which means the government can share with a private company IF IT WANTS TO. The question is will the government do it?

They can still make noise, HAL also makes some items for Tejas.

 

[Akhil]

Sadly, It will hardly be useful now. If decision is taken now, how much time before assembly line is set? Assembly line is another thing, no private company even produces anything similar. So before assembly line, a huge workforce needs to be trained, factory built.

Maybe not useful for Tejas, but with longterm AMCA and other projects in pipeline, Private players should indeed be roped in for manufacturing.

 

[swatkats_razor]

HAL so it will reorganize itself based on fear of loss of work to more efficient private companies.

There is a reason HAL can not reorganise even if it actually wants to.
Reason: Militant trade union.

BTW, "loss of work" is not a term in the DPSU dictionary.

 

[Sandeep]

India should just give a license to the private sector companies to manufacture the jets as they would be manufactured more quickly. HAL doesn’t need to provide all of the crucial technology like the jets computer source codes or other critical classified equipment but all of the other major parts can definitely be made by the private sector which will lighten the workload for HAL.

This is the same model that should be used for Tejas MK2 and the AMCA which is very important. HAL should manufacture only the critical and classified technology and equipment but the rest should be made by the private sector. This type of working model keeps our security and technology safe in government hands.

 

[Bijaya Kumar Sahu]

HAL has three assembly line and can churn out 24 Tejas MK1A per year. Components are outsourced. So need of hour is to increase assembly line. But where is the engine 🤔?

 

[Satya Dev]

Tatas & Mahindra are having atleast some exposure to aircraft / parts manufacturing, but why LT, Mr karnat?

 

[kurtwallis wallis]

GE engines will not be delivered by Kamala Harris POTUS unless IAF purchases F15EX jets on MRFA tender. So, better to scrap this and immediately start ORCA on Tejas-Naval-TEF platform using RD33MK Sea Wasp engines for starters....

 

[Rajesh]

Privatizing HAL will not bear results overnight because it is unionized and entrenched in Sarkari mindset of people management where seniority is rewarded over performance & potential.

These cannot be changed overnight even with privatization.

Can be done gradually like stop further recruitment, sell a small stake ie 25 percent at first to a potential promising private company along with their role in management. Then gradually increase their share and transfer hal share to IAf (will act as govt agency ) along with recruitment done even from agniveers. No reservation nor any union .