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

[Bharadwaj]

https://x.com/ANI/status/1971203783603470413

Hal CMD saying firing trial will be over in OCT and first two aircraft will be handed over. In the grand scheme of things one month further delay is not going to matter much but there is no doubt in my opinion that HAL underestimated the challenge of integrating an aesa radar into existing radome and integrating new weapons.

[ashishvikas]

https://x.com/ANI/status/1971203783603470413

Hal CMD saying firing trial will be over in OCT and first two aircraft will be handed over. In the grand scheme of things one month further delay is not going to matter much but there is no doubt in my opinion that HAL underestimated the challenge of integrating an aesa radar into existing radome and integrating new weapons.

I'd rather not take any CMDs statement as any type of commitment from HAL. [they simply lack ownership of their words]

[uddu]

Its not that Astra is not fired. It must have been done by now, if not for the failure and the need to change the code. If the next test also fails, indeed timeline will get extended or it will be done by that time. If they thought the safe option is the Israeli radar and that ended up as the problem, then its the lack of confidence of Babudom in indigenous systems that's delaying our program. Another is the GE engines.

[Bharadwaj]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFQ43e2rYxE

Mr Snehesh of Print claiming deliveries will only start end of first quarter 2026. But then he goes on a rant about the whole Tejas program so I have my doubts about his claims.

[uddu]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFQ43e2rYxE

Mr Snehesh of Print claiming deliveries will only start end of first quarter 2026. But then he goes on a rant about the whole Tejas program so I have my doubts about his claims.

Ignore. Print is known for propaganda. The defense reporting will not be immune to this problem.

[LakshmanPST]

Break up of 97 order is 68 Single seaters and 29 twin seaters...
----
Mk1 is 32 S + 8T
1st Mk1A order is 73 S + 10T
2nd Mk1A order is 68 S + 29T (I expected it to be 89S + 8T)
That is total 32 Mk1 SingleSeaters, 141 Mk1A SingleSeaters and 47 TwinSeaters
----
Honestly, these numbers are confusing... I guess only IAF ppl know how they're planning to organize them into squadrons...
But one thing is true---> The high no. of Twin seaters would mean that Twin seaters might be used for combat roles as well, not as just trainers...
----
One possibility I see is how Rafales are organized ---> 18 jets per squadron with break-up of 14 Single + 4 Twin seaters...
If we put aside Mk1s order (32 S+8T), the break-up of Mk1A orders is 141 Single seaters + 39 Twin seaters, with total of 180 jets...
That is approximately 14 Single and 4 Twin seaters per squadron with total 10 squadrons of Mk1A jets...

[KSingh]

https://x.com/ANI/status/1971203783603470413

Hal CMD saying firing trial will be over in OCT and first two aircraft will be handed over. In the grand scheme of things one month further delay is not going to matter much but there is no doubt in my opinion that HAL underestimated the challenge of integrating an aesa radar into existing radome and integrating new weapons.

I don’t think this has anything to do with the radome size

This is an integration issue between the EL/M-2052 and Astra. Whilst that is part of HAL’s role it is also more complex and involves DRDO, ELTA, CEMILEC etc etc

I just hope that they get this well out of the way with Uttam and because both are DRDO the integration process is much smoother of course will they then have the same issue with Meteor with the 97

Either way the main thing is production is ongoing and when the engine delivery issues and certification of weapons js complete they can hand over the aircraft within a few days/weeks

We’ve got exactly what we all wanted for a LONG time now- large upfront orders in a timely fashion for the LCA. A ~180 order backlog, it’s entirely over to HAL to place orders with their subcontractors and scale production accordingly- I believe they WILL do this, with a few teething issues a along the way but that is to be expected the world over


The deadline for all 83+97 seems to be FY2032-33 from which they want to commence MK.2 production so imaginary deadlines between here and then are immaterial as long as they meet that deadline

The engine supply will likely be the biggest constraint- perhaps the EL/M-2052 and then UTTAM down the road also but I’d expect to see 20-24/yr from 2027-28, a very respectable rate and hopefully straight into MK.2 with AMCA running in parallel (a few squadrons of Rafale thrown in maybe too)