With GE Resolving F404 Engine Delays, HAL Now Poised to Market Its Cost-effective Tejas Mk1A Fighter for Exports

India's state-owned aerospace and defence company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), is set to aggressively renew its international marketing efforts for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A.

This strategic push comes after General Electric (GE) Aerospace committed to an accelerated delivery schedule for the F404-IN20 engines, resolving a two-year delay that had previously constrained production and stalled export discussions.

With the critical engine supply chain now stabilising, HAL is confident in its ability to meet domestic orders for the Indian Air Force (IAF) while simultaneously pursuing foreign sales.

The renewed export drive is bolstered by significant domestic demand, with an existing contract for 83 jets and government approval for an additional 97 aircraft.

This combined order for 180 Tejas Mk1A fighters creates a robust and long-term production pipeline, allowing HAL to expand its manufacturing capacity.

The assurance of a steady engine supply from GE positions the Indian fighter as a reliable and competitive option for nations looking to modernise their air forces, strengthening India's goal to become a major player in the global defence market.

The Tejas Mk1A is a single-engine, 4.5-generation multi-role fighter aircraft featuring advanced systems, including an indigenous Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, a modern electronic warfare suite, and an array of sophisticated weaponry.

The aircraft's performance is powered by the GE F404-IN20 engine, a proven turbofan capable of producing 84 kilonewtons of thrust. Production of this engine was temporarily halted due to a five-year gap in orders between 2016 and 2021, which was further complicated by global supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to significant delays from the initially planned delivery date of March 2023.

Under the revised plan, GE has already delivered the first two engines this year and is set to supply a total of 12 by December 2025 by providing two units per month.

Starting in 2026, the delivery rate will increase to 20 engines annually. To meet the large domestic order and cater to potential export clients, HAL is reportedly negotiating to further increase this supply to 30 units per year by 2027.

This resolution has effectively removed a major production bottleneck, allowing HAL to plan its manufacturing schedule with greater certainty.

Reflecting the strength of their long-standing relationship, HAL has chosen not to impose financial penalties on GE for the delays.

This decision underscores the strategic importance of the 40-year partnership, which is set to deepen with a landmark 2023 agreement for the joint production of the more powerful F414 engine in India.

This future collaboration, which includes an 80% technology transfer, will power India's next-generation aircraft like the LCA Mk2 and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), ensuring a self-reliant engine supply for decades.

A key advantage of the Tejas Mk1A on the international stage is its cost-effectiveness, with a price tag estimated between $40 to $50 million per aircraft. This is substantially lower than Western competitors such as the F-16 or Gripen, which can cost between $70 to $100 million.

This competitive pricing has already attracted interest from several countries, including Argentina, Egypt, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Previously, HAL had to pause these negotiations to prioritise deliveries to the IAF, which urgently needs to address its depleting squadron numbers, currently at 31 against a sanctioned strength of 42.

With the engine supply issue resolved, HAL is now able to confidently re-engage with potential international customers. The aircraft is being marketed as an affordable, high-performance solution for nations seeking to replace ageing fleets of fighters like the MiG-21 or F-5.

Its ability to carry a mix of indigenous weapons, such as the Astra beyond-visual-range missile, and integrate with NATO-standard systems makes it a versatile and attractive option.

HAL officials have confirmed that by 2026, production capacity will be sufficient to fulfil export orders without impacting its primary commitment to the Indian Air Force.

 

Over 700 armed forces personnel to participate in exercise Bright Star 2025 in Egypt

ARDE Plans for Domestic Production of Gatling Guns for India’s Multi-layered Air Defence

[Snowstrike]

Let me tell you some crucial points about Tejas MK1A Tejas MK1A has radar cross-section of 0.5 m², because of composite material SU 30 has a radar cross-section of 10 m² is see the difference now why Tejas MK1A is a stepping stone and a crucial one think about Tejas Mark two it is said that it will have a radar cross-section of 0.12 m², and being a 4.5 generation fighter jet without stealth design being incorporated now think about AA which will have stealth coating and recent developments from IIT Kanpur doing research on a material that converts radar radiation into heat covers multiple bands of frequencies, unlike a single band absorbing paint so these are the developmental benefits that we get from the experience of developing a fighter jet like Tejas MK1A now it might not be of very good use against China, but it will be a good counterweight against Bangladesh, Pakistan and any such small countries plus it has very low operational cost. We cannot always be flying fifth fighter jet on all our borders, all the times if we will have all our squads of fifth generation fighter jet IAF would not be able to handle the operational cost. The 45 squadron number was given in the year about 2000. Now if we do a reassessment of that number, it is gonna increase up to 55 or 60, but since IAF could not get even 45 squads that’s why they haven’t revise the number once they will have 45 squadrons up and running They surely will increase the number now think about having 1200 fighter jets. We need light combat aircraft for peacetime missions around the border of Pakistan and Bangladesh, even US currently uses F 16, F 15, F 18 fighter jets, if you compare them with Rafael or Sukhoi, they are either equal or lower in capabilities, they only operate about 180 F 22 raptors. It’s not because they cannot manufacture it, but because of the high cost Now if a country like USA cannot afford such large fleet of fifth generation fighter jets, then how can you think we can afford them? We have much more budget constraints. No, I don’t think Tejas MK1A needs to be the best fighter jet just need to be a fighter jet that have low operation cost and easy to maintain that is the requirement plus radar and avionics can always be upgraded and it already have much lower RCS.

The argument that Tejas Mk1A is some transformational platform because of a supposed “0.5 m² RCS” and composites falls apart under scrutiny- first, RCS isn’t a fixed stat like horsepower, it varies with radar band, angle, and loadout, and that “0.5 m²” figure is for a clean aircraft with no pylons, pods, or weapons; once you actually hang fuel tanks, missiles, and bombs (which is the only way a combat jet flies in real life), the RCS spikes several times higher, easily several square meters, nowhere near low observable territory. Stealth comes primarily from shaping and internal weapon bays, not composites alone, and Tejas simply wasn’t designed with that in mind, so it will always be detectable far earlier than true stealth jets. Claiming it’s “good enough for Bangladesh and Pakistan” is strategically unserious- India doesn’t spend billions to outgun microstates, the IAF’s real task is deterring China, and in that fight Mk1A would be badly outmatched by J-10Cs with PL-15s or J-20s, both of which outrange and out-sensor it. Cost-efficiency matters, but throwing billions at 183 Mk1As just traps the IAF with a short-legged, light payload, non-stealth fighter running imported engines, instead of accelerating Tejas Mk2 and AMCA which are India’s actual path to parity. The U.S. analogy with F-16s and F-15s is misleading because America has top notch tech and modernizes their planes with AESA radars, advanced EW pods, datalinks, and integrates them into a huge AWACS/satellite/tanker ecosystem- capabilities India lacks at scale- so copying that model doesn’t work. And the “we need 45–60 squadrons” argument is outdated headcount logic: raw numbers don’t matter if most squadrons field jets already outclassed in BVR combat; 36 Rafales bring more effective power than several Tejas squadrons. In short, Mk1A is fine as an industry exercise and stopgap, but pretending it’s a long-term counterweight is delusional- its RCS claims are overhyped, it will be obsolete against China the day it enters full service, and India should cap the buy, redirect funds into Mk2, AMCA, and force multipliers like AWACS and EW, otherwise the IAF risks padding squadron numbers with little more than expensive cannon fodder. Plus, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that an order for 83 mk1as has ALREADY been placed in 2021 for $6.58 billion. This first order has been delayed several times, as deliveries were set to begin in feb 2024, yet now? Oct 2025. The order is set to be fulfilled sometime between 2028 and 2031, depending on engine availability. We do NOT need 97 MORE mk1as. Forget 5th gens, this husk of a plane isn't even capable of taking on a pier 4.5 gen.