indranilroy wrote:I'm posting in full the IE article linked by Marten to highlight some important points which have been raised here as well:
The Indian Air Force’s wait to induct the Tejas might get bit longer till the four series production (SP) aircraft roll out from the brand new hangars of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
While Friday’s second initial operational clearance (IOC-2) will signal the end of a grueling wait for the IAF to officially undertake flight evaluation trials, the formation of no 45 Squadron (Flying Daggers) earmarked for Tejas might take another two more years. The same squadron last flew the MiG 21 Bison aircraft operating from Naliya (Gujarat), an airfield closer to Karachi. The Tejas squadron will eventually be operating from the Sulur Air Force base, near Coimbatore.
Sources monitoring the Tejas programme said that, HAL’s promise of delivering the first production variant of Tejas (SP-1) by March 2014 might be little far-fetched. “We hope to have the first aircraft by end by mid of 2014. The first two aircraft (SP-1, SP-2) might not meet our standards for squadron formation as the metal cutting and hardware were done before we froze the IOC-2 test points. We will raise the first Tejas squadron with four aircraft starting from SP-3 to SP-6,” a top source said. The IAF will use SP-1 and SP-2 for evaluation flight to be undertaken by the test pilots of Aircraft System and Testing Establishment (ASTE). The limited series production variants LSP-7 and LSP-8 too will be used for evaluation flights by the IAF.
The IAF has already identified the first Commanding Officer for Tejas Squadron, now part of the ASTE team, but he’s yet to fly the Tejas. More officers are expected to join the squadron soon, with only few technicians currently being trained to handle the aircraft. For IAF, the maintainability of Tejas is the most primary concern. “The hardware-related issues need to be fixed first. The software can be upgraded without much delay. The critical factor for any aircraft is its maintainability. Truly speaking, before the IOC event, all hardware must be finalised, which might not still be the case with Tejas,” the source said.A programme management team from the IAF sits at the Aeronautical Development Agency to ensure that the Tejas comes out as a ‘usable aircraft’ befitting the squadron standards. The HAL will deliver first 20 aircraft in IOC configuration and another 20 more in the final operational clearance format.
First - while HAL was claiming in December 2014 that SP-1 will be delivered by end March 2014, there were people who had sounded contrary opinion. And these people have been proved correct. SP-1 is late by more than 6-months. And I'm yet to hear a single news item about SP-2.
Second - Maintainability is being highlighted as the key factor. This is the single most important factor professionals are concerned about at this stage.
All the more reason why orders should be given so that unabated serial production can continue! IAF has to own up this project, like it owned up Su-30. Forget first 2, first 30-odd were not production standard, and even they were multiple years late!
Okay, ADA/HAL are not perfect, so what do now? Problems need to be fixed. So either stop LCA Tejas production, because nobody else can produce it now. Or find out how to make ADA/HAL work. Clearly, not ordering Tejas in the numbers it should be ordered in, is not the solution!
@Shaun, at the moment you are speaking gibberish. Please stop.
Indranilji, while it seems as though it would be a great idea for the AF to handhold ADA/HAL, wasn't this exactly the iaf complaint - not enough authority to do so, responsibility SANs authority ? Weren't they asking to put one of their own in the top position at HAL.
Secondly, Will an additional order automatically mean that HALs delivery speed is going to be expedited? For that matter , since IAF has already promised over 100 mk2, and the mk2 is supposedly not that different from the mk1 and the same line will be used, why this insistence on another order of mk1. if HAL reaches the requisite rate of 12-14 birds per annum around say 2014, and the mk2 is nowhere in sight as promised, I am sure the IAf will order more mk1s. How much lead time is needed by HAL to accept additional orders for an already running line? 4 years seems rather much.
This is exactly how it happened with the mki, first order was for 40, followed three years later with another ten, and finally in year five a big batch of 140 was ordered.
Problem here is not one of hand holding, it of accountability in terms of timeline; IAF can't plan for the future based on the lca if nobody knows when the planes are going to be available. I can see increasingly why they are pushing for the mrca. Because with Dassault and not HAL being held accountable, the delivery should be much better. And if there are delays from the HAL facility, more can be ordered direct or skd form via France, as was done with the flanker. The issue here is not as though iaf is some reluctant mother unwilling to feed its baby. It is doing exactly what it has done with its other kids.
My take from observing statements from top honchos on both sides.
