IAF Chief Flags Tejas Delays on 94th Air Force Day; GE Engine Supplies Stabilise

The news

New Delhi. On the eve of the Indian Air Force’s 94th anniversary on October 8, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, who retires this month, said the force is moving in the “right direction” but “can be a little faster”, needing “greater capacity, faster induction and more combat mass”, PTI reports. He said the IAF had shifted from a “platform-centric to capability-centric” approach, proven in Operation Sindoor, and flagged LCA Mk-1A delays. At his annual press conference on October 3 he put the force at 29 operational fighter squadrons against 42 authorised, as reported by Outlook. The Economic Times reports that GE Aerospace shipped four engine sets to HAL last month and HAL expects over 20 engines a year from 2027. Deliveries on a $700 million order for 99 F404 engines, due from 2024, slipped; sources told ET that penalties have been imposed on GE.

Static syllabus linkage

1. Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 gives first preference to Indian-designed equipment. DAP 2020 lists acquisition categories in order of priority, with Buy (Indian-IDDM), meaning indigenously designed, developed and manufactured, at the top and Buy (Global) last. IDDM needs at least 50% indigenous content. The Defence Ministry also notifies Positive Indigenisation Lists of items that can no longer be imported after set dates; the first, in August 2020, had 101 items.
2. Tejas is designed by ADA and built by HAL. The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency under the Defence Ministry’s Department of Defence Research and Development and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a Defence PSU in Bengaluru. It flies on the American GE F404 engine; the Mk-2 is to use the more powerful GE F414.

Why UPSC loves this

1. GS3 links security to indigenisation. The syllabus covers “Indigenization of technology and developing new technology”; a falling squadron count tests it directly.

Analysis

1. The squadron gap is a production-rate problem. India can design a fighter; the difficulty is building enough each year. With old jets retiring, induction has to run faster than retirement just to stop the decline. That depends on HAL’s lines, its suppliers and, above all, engines arriving on time.
2. Lens — Strategic autonomy and partnership: an Indian jet with a foreign heart is only half independent. The Tejas is Indian, but its delays came from a US engine maker’s supply chain, and the Mk-2 will also use a GE engine built under licence. A foreign supplier thus sets the pace. A thoughtful officer would accept licensed engines and a foreign multi-role fighter for now to keep the fleet strong, while funding an indigenous engine steadily for the long term.
3. Buying abroad now and building at home later must not cancel each other. A large foreign multi-role fighter purchase closes the gap quickly but takes money and orders away from Indian programmes. The way out is to tie foreign purchases to local manufacture and to ensure firm, long-term orders for Tejas so HAL and private suppliers can invest.

Administrator's brainstorm