Bengaluru/New Delhi: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is gearing up to deliver the first two TEJAS MK-1A fighter aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in September 2025. However, the milestone remains contingent on the successful completion of weapon integration trials scheduled later this month.
Crucial Weapon Trials Underway
The upcoming tests will validate the integration of Astra beyond-visual-range missiles, advanced short-range air-to-air missiles, and precision-guided munitions like laser-guided bombs. These systems are linked with the aircraft’s new Israeli Elta ELM-2052 AESA radar and upgraded fire-control suite.
Earlier attempts faced setbacks when software issues disrupted missile-firing trials. HAL and its partners had to redesign and reintegrate systems. The results of these new trials will determine whether the first two aircraft can enter IAF service by October.
Engine Delays Slow Production
The TEJAS MK-1A program has faced repeated disruptions, mainly due to delayed engine deliveries from General Electric (GE) of the United States. Under a ₹5,375-crore deal signed in August 2021, GE was to supply 99 F404-IN20 turbofan engines for the first 83 MK-1A fighters.
Deliveries are running almost two years behind schedule. So far, HAL has received only two engines. GE has assured HAL that 10 more will arrive by March 2026, with regular annual deliveries of 20 engines thereafter. The shortfall has severely constrained HAL’s production capacity, already challenged by integration complexities.
Rising Pressure on IAF Fleet Strength
The IAF has inducted 38 of 40 TEJAS Mark-1 aircraft under an earlier ₹8,802-crore contract. Deliveries of the more advanced MK-1A variants, contracted in February 2021 for ₹46,898 crore, were scheduled to begin in February 2024 and finish by 2028. Not a single unit from that order has yet entered service.
The urgency has grown following the Cabinet Committee on Security’s clearance of an additional 97 MK-1A fighters worth ₹66,500 crore. Despite these large orders, delays in production and integration are pushing IAF squadron strength to record lows.
Sharp Decline in Combat Squadrons
By the end of September 2025, the IAF will retire its last 36 MiG-21 fighters. This will reduce squadron strength to just 29 squadrons, the lowest in history, against the sanctioned strength of 42.5 squadrons.
Former Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari and current Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh have both stressed the need for HAL to deliver at least 40 fighters annually to meet two-front war preparedness. The ongoing delays risk widening the operational gap.
Strategic Risks Ahead
The fighter shortfall is expected to persist well beyond 2026, coinciding with the phased retirement of MiG-29, Jaguar, and Mirage-2000 fleets in the late 2020s. This will deepen the gap at a time when China is expanding deployments under its Western Theatre Command and Pakistan is inducting modern J-10CE and JF-17 Block-III aircraft.
While the TEJAS MK-1A brings major upgrades AESA radar, Astra missile capability, advanced electronic warfare systems, and easier maintainability production bottlenecks must be overcome urgently. The delivery of two aircraft in September, though symbolic, highlights the risks of slippage in India’s indigenous fighter strategy during a period of pressing strategic need.
