Air Force Tejas Mk1A: News & Discussions: 02 January 2022

[fanne]

If 75 is
Indeed the number and our source is internet, that means many engine were delivered without a formal internet announcement. At least 75-41 = 34 were. Then who knows another 50 May also have been delivered.

[fanne]

If I think doval sir style, not iaf or Hal, I would think we would have sufficient engines in house before embarking making them. This 99 engine then is for the next 97 lca order. Of course when that order comes some 100 engine would be bought making sure of 2 times replacement. That we we are not hostage to whims of state department.

[Rakesh]

The numbers are all over the place. This link claims 75 engines delivered so far -

https://idrw.org/hal-iaf-and-ge-to-addr ... as-orders/

I would not trust IDRW at all.

[Aditya_V]

ARe we including engines for TD, PV, LSP, spare engines for operational squadrons etc, some of these engines would date back to the late 90's. SOme are needed to swap engines in operational squadrons, so there is no real spare engines.

We should have procured a 20-30% engines for safety but CAG, Chandigarh lobby do not exactly consider contingencies.

[maitya]

<snip>
Because apparently Air HQ is clueless or unable on how to induct more than 1 Tejas squadron a year. So neither Tejas, nor MRFA or anything else is going to address the squadron shortage in a timely manner.
<snip>

Wrt the highlighted part, what I'm going to write/post below, is purely speculative and is in fact, most probably completely wrong - but in absence of a well-reasoned counter by anybody else, this is what will stand unfortunately:

1) Raising an Operational Sqn requires making available an wide spectrum of resources (incl the platforms themselves plus the dedicated Training infra) - its not only the flying cadre, but also multi-dimensional maintenance cadre needs to be (re)trained/raised.

2) Multidimensional since - Trades like Engine, Airframe, Hydraulics and Pneumatics, Electrical, Avionics (Core), Avionics (Radar/ECM), Weapons etc etc etc, all needs "dedicated" Support crew training and sometimes even (internal) certification.
Similarly, Aircrew training and various type of certifications (Type Certification, Weapon Capable, Night Flying etc) is required in a correct mixture (wrt count) - also aircrew itself needs to be of graded experience level, so that professional growth path etc is catered for.

3) So normally "Holding Squadrons" are first raised (e.g. No 45 Sqn for LCA), which then "anchors" raising of the subsequent Squadrons (e.g. No 18 Sqn) - of course raising of "holding Squadrons" takes time (multi-year), as they are the ones who first creates the ops documentation etc, on all aspects (flying, fighting, maintenance, training etc etc).
These Holding Sqns are naturally quite top-heavy, more personnel in almost all aspects, that what'd typically be there in a std ops sqn.

4) Also mostly, the holding and the new sqn being raised remain are co-located as KT etc becomes easier that way - the std KT cycle of Theoretical KT, we-perform-you-watch and then you-perform-we-watch etc gets implemented.
And it's quite normal to have leadership elements (again all aspects, flying, maintenance, training etc) of the raising sqn is taken from these Holding Sqns (std Role progression) itself.

5) Also it's quite normal to have more number of platforms assigned to the Holding Sqns to help with such transitions.
And thus the "Holding Sqns" also continues to discharge its primary role of a Operational Sqn, in parallel.

6) So, raising of >1 Sqn/Year is possible, if
a) either more than 1 aircraft types are involved i.e., just as an example, 1 Rafale and 1 LCA Sqn raising can happen parallelly

b) or, there are more "Holding Sqns" available (for a particular platform type)
Of course, in both the above scenarios (a and b), there's 0 overlap on the resources for the steps 1-5 mentioned above.

7) Now from LCA Tejas Sqn raising perspective, note the following:
a) We have 2 Sqns (No 45 and 18), who can easily perform as the "Holding Sqn" roles.

b) As a part of the 2021 contract, I think IIRC (need to check) IAF had asked HAL, for 2 complete base infrastructure to be developed.
Let's call these, for want of a better term, "Sqn raising bases", as they will come with aspects of training and deeper technical support of the platform.

c) So depending upon how far are we wrt setting up these "Sqn raising bases", the number of "Holding Sqns" that can be activated parallelly, gets decided (there's already currently atleast 1 available, current home of No 18 and No 45).

d) So, wrt Pt 7a above, and assuming atleast ones of these "bases" have been made available, theoretically, 2 sqns can be raised concurrently (assuming one of No 45 or No 18 moves to this new Sqn-raising base and assumes the Holding Sqn role).
However Sqn raising takes time, multi-year durations, before the newly raised Squadron can move out and assume an operational role independently.
Sometimes, they can also start performing the "Holding Sqn" role, if a suitable "Sqn raising base" is made available.

e) So net-net, for Tejas, the peak-sqn-raising capability is 3, 1 existing and 2 to be built by HAL. Bus since, raising a sqn can take > 1 year, the rate of new Sqns achieving operational status, may still remain 1 Sqn/Year.
Also what path is taken to reach this capability (of 3 peak) is very important, and should be (is) classified - only IAF would know/plan-out the intricate details of all these, ad that's precisely the way it should be.
Is it Y1 1H + 1R -> Y2 2H + 2R -> Y3 3H + 3R + 1 Ops + ... or some other feasible perm-comb, is best left to IAF to decide/plan.
We aam junta, should remain satisfied, with such new Sqn raising news items, as and when they happen.

f) As you may have noticed above (and also refer to pt 5), as long as a minimum number of platforms/Sqn (let's assume, 13-14 platform/Sqn excluding the trainers and the Sqn reserves) are getting delivered/year, there's no direct dependency on the delivery rate (per year).
If more are delivered, they will simply be part fo the Holding Sqns, to be (re)distributed once the sqn-being-raised attains ops status.

So net-net, aiming for 24 Mk1As/year delivery rate/schedule, doesn't impact Sqn raising capability and vise-versa, provided ofcourse the minimum platform-vol threshold is maintained.

All IMVHO onlee, and are pure speculation ...

[BenG]

Wait till the GoI/MoF/MoD get a sticker price shock on how much MRFA 100+ Rafales will cost

In the first MRCA, GoI/MoF/MoD had budgeted $10-12 billion for 126 Rafales As a “compromise” face-saving gesture, the PM did a G2G for 36 Rafales at a cost of $8 billion.

So anyone thinking there is $30+ billion to spend on MRFA is dreaming only IMO.

It's the story of 'emperor's new clothes'.
I like the idea of building new super sukoi airframes instead of 114 mrfa. The mrfa tender is calling for 11 aircraft per year which is easily doable with new super sukoi compared to rafale. Buy 36 rafale and close this mrfa. If airframe and stealth are more important, open a new competition for gcap, f-35, su-57 and fcas for another 15-20 years.

I have faith despite ge engine problem. Tejas mk1a can make up numbers. The engine problem should be a wake up call to devote resources to bring Kaveri 50kn/80kn variant to production for tejas engine replacement.

[fanne]

ARe we including engines for TD, PV, LSP, spare engines for operational squadrons etc, some of these engines would date back to the late 90's. SOme are needed to swap engines in operational squadrons, so there is no real spare engines.

We should have procured a 20-30% engines for safety but CAG, Chandigarh lobby do not exactly consider contingencies.

We had 16 extra pv and lsp (2 td were vanilla f404). These engines have life of 4000 hours and none of these pv or lsp have flown more than 400 hours (I.e. even their engine have 90% of its life left). These engines are exactly same (with high precision of few microns) and can be used for rest of their 90% life. The thumb rule for reserves is 20%. So for 123 planes ordered so far you need 24 extra engines. If GE website is correct we have approx 125 he f404in20 in India (120+ =125).

[srai]

^^^
Many companies post all sorts of things by their sales & marketing teams but are they always accurate?

At least, we know there has been an order of 120 F-404 engines so far (from the beginning to the latest batch). But that doesn’t mean all are delivered. The contracts for each batch have occurred at different points in time spanning decades. The last one signed only 3-years ago in 2021.

Try to put that in as few words as possible in a marketing poster

If in doubt, read up on lead times from contract signing to first lot deliveries. It has not been 36-months from Aug 2021. That is pretty much the industry standards for sophisticated military products.

[fanne]

Srai, you are wrong. First the F404 lead time in the contract was 24 months.

Have you visited the website? Do you see that against some planes it says expected (i.e. they are making exception between produced and to be made).

These are publicly traded companies. They are responsible to SEC, their shareholders, bond holders and who not. And Boeing is a reputed company (discounting their current issues). They will not mention something erroneous on their web site. Their website is not 'marketing material'. And also I have seen enough, but never seen reputed company 'lying' on its marketing material, they are open for litigation otherwise.

Now, I do not remember, but I have seen this 120 produced, even before our order of 99 engines in Sept 2021. Can anyone figure on the web, like archives or inspecting the current website, when was this figure put there?

It looks like we were being smart and ordering and hoarding engines before even ordering the plane. HAL is not lying when it is seeking permission from the powers to dip into the reserves. This is held as reserves for long time support and war scenarios. Don't think of 30 day war, think of 2-3 years of war and wear tear. Maybe these were the engines to go for LIFT or exports. Who knows, but I am positive that we have 120+ engines in the country.

The delay is in HAL qualifying Mark1a, and they also need permission to dip into reserve. The reserve is big, accounting for if our friend putting sanctions. I am expecting yet a bigger order of F404 for 83 as a follow on and a more robust 'reserve' , more than 20%. Then there will be engines for another 97. I think all in all we will end up with over 400 F404 (for 220 LCA MK1/1A) INITIALLY. Maybe at a later date say after 5 -10 years, if our Kaveri is not up to scratch, we may order some replacement engine 9apart from reserve). Apparently for F404 advance tech, one does not need 2-3 engine over the life of the aircraft. It may need replacement of some modular parts.

[ernest]

IMHO, the number of 120+ on GE website, based on how it is displayed, is not of the engines, but of the aircraft. They are using 40 mk1 + 83mk1a orders placed for the 120+ number

[Rakesh]

Wrt the highlighted part, what I'm going to write/post below, is purely speculative and is in fact, most probably completely wrong - but in absence of a well-reasoned counter by anybody else, this is what will stand unfortunately:
....
All IMVHO onlee, and are pure speculation ...

Thank you for the explanation. It does make sense and in the absence of any other concrete info, I will take your version as the gospel truth.

But how much longer are the stakeholders going to use the excuse that Tejas squadrons are in "holding" mode? And thus being in this twilight zone realm, raisings of new Tejas squadrons will take time.

These are the same stakeholders that have no qualms in assigning resources (financial, human, time, etc) for foreign imports. Pissing away money at unobtanium programs, that serve only as a burden on programs that are already on the production line i.e. Tejas. Even during the Rambha production, I believe it was around 12+ aircraft a year. Even the late General Bipin Rawat mentioned that the MRFA production schedule is planned around 13 aircraft a year. So even with imports, the story is the same.

As stated earlier, HAL is envisaging a 15 year timeframe to upgrade 84 Su-30MKI aircraft. And this is from a company that has been making the aircraft for the past 20+ years. Where is the accountability? And HAL proudly claims that AL-31FP turbofan is built in India from raw material stage

So hoping that Tejas or even MRFA is going to address the squadron shortage in a timely manner, is obviously pointless. Isn't it?

As mentioned earlier, it appears that it could take close to three decades for HAL to deliver 380 Tejas airframes. How is this acceptable? And yet this is the same air force that talks about a squadron shortage. Will order Mk1A only in piecemeal format (83 first, then 97 later). And is planning on repeating the same strategy with the Mk2 (100 first, then another 100 later).

HAL talks about building 24 aircraft a year, but relies on a company that is churning out ~ 20 turbofans a year. Who asks this DPSU about this gap? Does anyone? Or is it business as usual in the MoD?

Who are we fooling by claiming that Tejas (or anything else) is going to address the squadron shortage? The issue is priorities. Will induct one Tejas squadron a year and then complain about squadron shortage. It is not a funding issue, a human resources issue or even a time issue. The priority is to import at all costs. When local programs suffer, there is no focus on workarounds or back up plans....the focus immediately shifts to emergency imports. Time tested strategy that works every time.

P.S. As per wiki chacha, there are 300 J-20s in service with the PLAAF in 13 aviation brigades. Inducted in 2018, so 6+ years. Works out to ~50 aircraft per year. Lets not even talk about J-10, J-15, J-16, etc. Priorities?

[Rakesh]

IMHO, the number of 120+ on GE website, based on how it is displayed, is not of the engines, but of the aircraft. They are using 40 mk1 + 83mk1a orders placed for the 120+ number

Good Point.

[fanne]

IMHO, the number of 120+ on GE website, based on how it is displayed, is not of the engines, but of the aircraft. They are using 40 mk1 + 83mk1a orders placed for the 120+ number

I wished what you said was fully correct and settled the issue. I would want HAL and others to be right (but unlucky, good to have 120 engines). HAL is doing everything but GE is screwing it - it would be nice to believe this.
However,
Of course 120+ LCA has not been produced. F/A - 18 numbers exactly matches with 1480 built(could be that many engines as well, at least), Gripen number are off by 20% and Korean trainers/other variants by 100%. All info from wiki. So who knows, but given everything, I believe you are more right than what I am interpreting (and desperate). These are planes number and not engine numbers.

[sanjayc]

Slow F404 deliveries impact Tejas Mk-1A programme
https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/sl ... 23.article
23 July 2024

India’s state-owned airframer Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is grappling with delays in deliveries of GE Aerospace F404-IN20 engines for the Tejas Mk-1A fighter.

Original plans called for HAL to deliver the first Tejas Mk-1A to the Indian air force in February. However, the first Tejas Mk-1A (LA5033) only took to the air in March and the airframer is behind its initial delivery schedule.

FlightGlobal understands that a key factor behind the delay is GE Aerospace’s failure to deliver F404 engines as scheduled.

When contacted by FlightGlobal, GE Aerospace had this to say: “The aerospace industry continues to experience unprecedented supply chain pressures. GE Aerospace is working with our partner HAL and suppliers to resolve constraints and deliver F404-IN20 engines for the LCA Mk-1A programme.”

FlightGlobal understands that F404 deliveries are likely to begin in September, helping HAL to accelerate production.

Further delays could force HAL to install used engines from its existing inventory.

In February 2021, India’s defence ministry contracted HAL to deliver 83 Mk-1As in a deal worth about Rs480 billion ($5.7 billion). HAL subsequently ordered 99 F404s in a deal worth US$716 million.

Deliveries of the first three aircraft were planned for 2024, with the annual production rate rising to 16 aircraft annually from 2025, with all deliveries completed by 2029.

[sanman]

S.Korea getting plenty of GE F404 engines

[Kartik]

S.Korea getting plenty of GE F404 engines

Because they've been assembling them in South Korea for their T-50/F-50 and FA-50 program for quite some time. Hanwha Aerospace has been assembling F-404 engines on their own, in South Korea. GE simply supplies a major portion of those F-404 engines and Hanwha Aerospace builds parts of the F-404 entirely on it's own under license from GE.

India on the other hand is waiting on GE F-404 engines built in the USA.

No one in India thought that GE F-404 should've been assembled in India under a similar license, given the large requirement overall. Especially after the deal for 83 Tejas Mk1A was signed, but by then it would've been too late to set up the assembly line in India to deliver the F-404 engines for the first 16 to 24 of the Tejas Mk1As.

[basant]

It might be possible to extract F404's performance using F414s without changing the structure? If so we should seriously consider manufacturing F414 for not just Mk2s but also Mk1As.

[Aditya_V]

Back then LCA was designed to go the Arjun, the thought was buying 189 Rafales till 2014, when slowly Make in India is taking shape.

[maitya]

S.Korea getting plenty of GE F404 engines
...

Because they've been assembling them in South Korea for their T-50/F-50 and FA-50 program for quite some time. Hanwha Aerospace has been assembling F-404 engines on their own, in South Korea. GE simply supplies a major portion of those F-404 engines and Hanwha Aerospace builds parts of the F-404 entirely on it's own under license from GE.

India on the other hand is waiting on GE F-404 engines built in the USA.

No one in India thought that GE F-404 should've been assembled in India under a similar license, given the large requirement overall. Especially after the deal for 83 Tejas Mk1A was signed, but by then it would've been too late to set up the assembly line in India to deliver the F-404 engines for the first 16 to 24 of the Tejas Mk1As.

Something is amiss here ... yes Hanwha Aerospace have been assembling F404 for decades now, but it seems for it's F404-102 version only 36 percent of the components are made domestically.
Classic Screwdrivergiri, with most of the major components (read HPT, LPT, HPC, Combustor etc) are imported in CKD or SKD form, from the OEM, to be assembled and tested there - not very different from the so-called "indigenous" manufacturing of the AL-31F engines.

But, what is baffling is, how come supply chain issues for these "rest 64%" of components are not hit - it can't be India-specific (IN20 version, way improved than -102 version of Hanwha) version, for which component shortages that GE is facing.

That said, I fully agree, that we should be aggressively going-for a Lic Mfg deal (read ToAsT deal) for the F404s-IN20 versions, along-with the F414 ToAsT deal - some autonomy, howsoever miniscule may it be, is way better than no autonomy.

[fanne]

In that limited sense true autonomy we have is only with su30mki (limited autonomy that is). I believe some half billion dollars have been given ti make su30mki and mig 29 engine indigenous (I would imagine most consumables and most frequently replaced parts).

[maitya]

In that limited sense true autonomy we have is only with su30mki (limited autonomy that is). I believe some half billion dollars have been given ti make su30mki and mig 29 engine indigenous (I would imagine most consumables and most frequently replaced parts).

fanneji, let me make this claim, unsubstantiated yes, but still an informed/educated one:
GTRE/MIDHANI/DMRL et all, have actually demoed that ALL key components of AL-31F are well within their reach, and can easily be manufactured from pure indigenous raw-materials, often surpassing the specified perf parameters, and that too by a large margin ...

In fact, it's fully within our capability to "upgrade" (component-wise upgrades) the current AL-31F and squeeze out AL-41F performance levels from it.
No wonder AL-41F offer, for the Super Sukhoi program, has been categorically rejected, multiple times now ... now only a juicy screwdrivergiri of Izdeliya-30 offer, can make us rethink etc, nothing short of it.

But, the current contract* doesn't allow any such hanky-panky, so that's about it really - just a claim!!

Instead, the current focus is to somehow get the OEM to agree, to allow us fully-indigenous part replacements, those that'll provide us with higher MTBO/MTBF etc (perf remains same).
(hint: Akin to what was done via the 414-EDE program, by GE et all)
I doubt our all-weather-ally etc will agree to it though, atleast not without a uber-fat chunk of flesh.

RD-33 variants are gen behind AL-31F etc, so point discussing much about them.


*PS - This is exactly what happens when negotiations are led by a bunch of medieval-history-degree-dhari baboons.

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/writetake/status/1815438323047166316 ---> Tejas program gets first woman Project Director.

Namaste! Extremely delighted to share that Mrs Padmavathi, a top notch A&D scientist with Aeronautical Development Agency (#ADA) has taken over as the Project Director (PD) of Tejas Mk1A, following the superannuation of her senior colleague recently. Her designation will now read as: PD-LCA Tejas. Earlier she was the PD of Tejas Mk1 and now for Tejas Mk1A as well. Mrs Padmavathi is the first woman scientist ever to become the PD of a Tejas program (earlier MK1 & now fro MK1A as well), a big milestone in a world otherwise dominated by men! Mrs Padmavathi hails from Sagara in Shimoga district of Karnataka, which is in striking range from the famous Jog Falls. She has been associated with the Tejas program since late 1980s and is armed with deep technical know-how and a rare ability to find swift solutions to the needs of IAF squadrons.

Insiders in ADA say that Mrs Padmavathi is wedded to the Tejas program so much that she barely takes any leave and stays late night guiding her team to take on complex issues. The Tejas Squadron in Sulur owes her a lot as she has been the go-to-person when it comes to software coding and algorithms for weapon integration. It is a matter of great pride for all of us chasing LCA progrma that a Namma Kannada Hudugi is scaling new heights through sheer dedication and hard work, sans any godfathers. Perhaps a testimony to what नारीशक्ति (Woman Power) is all about!

Mrs Padmavathi's elevation should have been a press release from DRDO giving us (the media) details about her achievements thereby inspiring young girls and boys from remote villages to chase their dreams with vigour. It is time the good-for-nothing DPI of DRDO is revamped.

Time DRDO top brass pay attention to such significant achievements of scientists that can inspire a whole generation of youngsters. Please stop sending us boring releases saying: RM congratulated the scientists; the missile met all parameters; seminar on mosquito coils inaugurated and symposium on millets concluded! What is technology minus the men and women behind it? Tell us about their stories rather than name-sake releases containing mere English words with zero-meaning. Time to move out of stone age syndrome. It's a new world out there Dr Samir V Kamat, my good friend.

[bala]

GTRE/MIDHANI/DMRL et all, have actually demoed that ALL key components of AL-31F are well within their reach, and can easily be manufactured from pure indigenous raw-materials, often surpassing the specified perf parameters, and that too by a large margin ...

In fact, it's fully within our capability to "upgrade" (component-wise upgrades) the current AL-31F and squeeze out AL-41F performance levels from it.

Maitya ji, if such capability exists what is preventing our folks from cloning the engine and flying them secretly on SU 30 MKI, at least one engine swap out. We cannot do that in secret? Why all the timidity and proprah norms. We have to go past all the BS Babugiri and openness in terms of defence projects - kinda oxymoron. All other nations have secret projects - SKUNK works, the chinese are expert cloners. Why is India behaving stupid in this aspect. Time to move on and do things in secret. This should be done forthwith. I looked at the recent budget and there is increase for R&D, defence etc. I believe the amounts are miniscule compared to dole out e.g. MNREGA programs. I hope Modiji provides a blanket 10x budget for all R&D programs. This would help India avoid Sanction regime, tech denial, etc. It is time India takes the lead in all areas including high-tech defence projects. Just my humble opinion!

[fanne]

And a follow up on that - What are we spending extra 500 million USD on both AF-31 OR rd-33? We have almost made (or will be making) 1000 AL-31 F. Can we not (as Bala ji points out), do some secret testing of few of these engines, even if we not use it. Even if we use some modules, who ill be wiser? Extending further, even if we use a newly made engine, who would be wiser? We still respect the contract and have tech developed (agreed a very costly preposition for a developing nation like us) and not mass produce/use it. Tomorrow if Russia cannot deliver on these engines, we have a solution. That time we can break the contract, the choice then will be to either honor the contract or have 40% of your air force grounded.

If we are able to do it and test the engine (SU30MKI being dual engine, do not need a testing flying bed), maybe the material tech can be imported to Kaveri. Just another idea.

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/rahulsinghx/status/1818620611721097713 ---> Delivery of LCA Mk1A further delayed. IAF may get first fighter only in November 2024. Question mark hangs over the delivery schedule for the current fiscal year and even beyond. GE F404 engine deliveries delayed because of supply chain challenges. Fat chance IAF getting 16 fighters this fiscal year.

[Kakkaji]

India Defence Updates is reporting that there is a significant issue with the EL-2052 radar that has put another question mark on Mk1A deliveries. Can someone post that clip because I can’t post it right now? TIA

[fanne]

11. ELM-2052 radar issues cast shadow over Tejas Mk1A

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/rahulsinghx/status/1818620611721097713 ---> Delivery of LCA Mk1A further delayed. IAF may get first fighter only in November 2024. Question mark hangs over the delivery schedule for the current fiscal year and even beyond. GE F404 engine deliveries delayed because of supply chain challenges. Fat chance IAF getting 16 fighters this fiscal year.

https://x.com/writetake/status/1817912221789524427 ---> According to Casper (@casperthegolden), a defence reporter with Tales magazine, the AESA radar currently fitted on Tejas Mk1A is giving big trouble. This according to him, is a matter of concern. He is expected to share more details in the upcoming Part-3 of #GodSaveHAL series on #TMH channel.

https://x.com/writetake/status/1817808633121710396 ---> Sources claim that both @DRDO_India and @HALHQBLR have issued strict instructions to their top management not to share anything with the Media, irrespective of who the info-seeker is. If this is true, then it is an insult to the media! Which level-headed journalist will seek info from DRDO & HAL -- 2 top-notch organizations wasting tax-payers' money. And, what is there to seek? What did RRM eat during the recent visit to HAL? Or what was the gsm of the paper used in DRDO's latest Technology Foucs mag? Phew! Doctors have warned me not to laugh, because it will strain my troubled neck. I am in a fix, folks! Stay tuned for #GodSaveHAL Part-3 going live today.

[Rakesh]

Please click on link below to read the HAL press release

https://x.com/alpha_defense/status/1818566395158053343 ---> HAL extends the tenure of Shri CB Ananthakrishnan, Chairman And Managing Director (CMD) for a period of 1 month wef 01 August 24.

[fanne]

1 month is too long, how about a week?

[Kakkaji]

I was surprised about how little testing was done for Mk1A compared to the foc version.
Was it the assumption that since EL2032 had been working on Mk1, and the EL2052 was working on the Jaguars, hence the EL2052 will work effortlessly on Mk1A?

[Rakesh]

Grappling with fighter jet shortage, IAF loses hope of timely delivery of Tejas from HAL this fiscal
https://theprint.in/defence/grappling-w ... l/2201033/
31 July 2024

[pravula]

Radar would have been tested, esp for power, cooling and other attributes. Need to wait and see what the issue is. For all we know, Radome may be the issue…

[VinodTK]

Classic signes of a large program missing multiple deadlines, easy to blame outsiders (GE, USA) at the same time masking their own issues, and hopeing somehow their issues will be resolved by the time the external partners delever their components. Unfortunately the truth does come out radar and other issues will surface.

Unfortunately not a single opposition member raising IAF / HAL issues in the parliament.

[sanman]

[Prem Kumar]

HAL Chairman, rather than being given an extension, must be sacked

Yes GE engines is an issue but 2 other things happened

1) HAL is pushing other delivery/readiness issues under the GE Engine umbrella
2) HAL Chairman was on record last month, assuring everyone of on-time delivery

Did he not know about GE Engine issues? Must have been cooking for a year at least. He is such an imbecile and/or a liar. Why would anyone trust anything from HAL!

The IAF must also cop a fair share of the blame. It was only due to the late Parikkar that they warmed upto Tejas and even then ordered only 40 Mk1s. They were also asking for changes to Mk1a even as recently as a few months back

If they had gone for 3-4 more squadrons of Mk1 itself a few years back, we would have not had these delays

Intersection of incompetence & vested interests

[Rakesh]

The IAF must also cop a fair share of the blame. It was only due to the late Parikkar that they warmed upto Tejas and even then ordered only 40 Mk1s. They were also asking for changes to Mk1a even as recently as a few months back

If they had gone for 3-4 more squadrons of Mk1 itself a few years back, we would have not had these delays

Intersection of incompetence & vested interests.

Air HQ signed a contract for 83 airframes in February 2021. Once contract is inked, then it is HAL's baby all the way till delivery. HAL screwed up. What was supposed to be Feb 2024, is now being pushed to Nov 2024. Production hiccups are common, but considering the sour taste between Air HQ and HAL...the latter should have ensured that delivery was met. More than the aircraft deliveries, this was a PR opportunity for HAL and they blew it *BIG* time. I don't know how HAL can compete in international contests (i.e. Philippines) when they cannot even deliver aircraft - on time - to their home customer. Even worse, they are marketing an aircraft to international customers and the turbofan is not even of Indian origin.

Air HQ bears a different blame altogether i.e. piecemeal ordering. But even here, HAL cannot deliver 83 on time. What is the guarantee they are going to deliver - on time - the second tranche of 97 aircraft? And then there is upcoming 201 Mk2 order.

Equally worse, HAL just made the case for 114 MRFA. Air HQ does not even have to make an argument. So much for relying on Tejas alone to make up the squadron shortfall.

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/Defencematrix1/status/1818889594739273897 ---> Opinion: Tejas Mk1A was one of the projects where a procurement contract was signed even before the aircraft first flew. How else can IAF show commitment and confidence? The engine supply chain issue is there, but can that issue apply to the aircraft that is already flying? If you can quote unrealistic timelines on business media channels to woo your investors, then what is the problem in addressing these issues openly? Accountability is the word. IAF's frustration is justified, but how are they going to explain the MRFA? what went wrong there? they don't even have a Plan B? Serious retrospection is needed. New policies can't be forced like that. The amount of pressure should be calculated.

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/writetake/status/1817912221789524427 ---> According to Casper (@casperthegolden), a defence reporter with Tales magazine, the AESA radar currently fitted on Tejas Mk1A is giving big trouble. This according to him, is a matter of concern. He is expected to share more details in the upcoming Part-3 of #GodSaveHAL series on #TMH channel.

Tweet below is from Astra Microwave Products Limited ---> https://astramwp.com/

https://x.com/astramwp/status/1818507149410226659 ---> It's now time to expedite induction of Uttam Radar. Home grown AESA Radar. No looking back from here on.

[Rakesh]

https://x.com/writetake/status/1817912221789524427 ---> According to Casper (@casperthegolden), a defence reporter with Tales magazine, the AESA radar currently fitted on Tejas Mk1A is giving big trouble. This according to him, is a matter of concern. He is expected to share more details in the upcoming Part-3 of #GodSaveHAL series on #TMH channel.

God Save HAL - Part 1 I Iron Man of HAL Sanjay Sharma quits I Set back to Tejas program I Wake up MoD



God Save HAL - Part 2 I HAL's infamous HR policy: Show us the person, we will tell you the rule



God Save HAL - Part 3 I MoD administering slow death to HAL? I Why CMD post vacant for 2 years?