NEW DELHI: Under the Rs 66,500-crore contract inked by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) with the defence ministry on Thursday, 97 additional Tejas Mark-1 A fighter aircraft will be delivered by the PSU over a six-year period beginning 2027-28.Significantly, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is yet to get even the first of the 83 ‘improved’ Tejas Mark-1A jets ordered by the ministry for Rs 46,898 crore in 2021. Under the agreement, the first jet was to be delivered by Feb last year, with all 83 coming in by Feb 2028.The new contract entails delivery of 68 fighters and 29 twin-seat trainers, along with associated equipment, at a cost of over Rs. 62,370 crore, which goes up to around Rs 66,500 crore if taxes are included. TOI was the first to report that the new deal would be inked on Thursday.”The deal for 97 Tejas Mark-1A is a major milestone for HAL and will provide a significant boost to India’s indigenous and aerospace manufacturing capabilities. These aircraft have more indigenous content compared to previous jets,” HAL chief Dr D K Sunil told TOI.Asked about the continuing delay in delivery of the earlier 83 Tejas Mark-1A jets, the HAL chief said, “The primary bottleneck was the supply of F404 engines from US firm General Electric (HAL had ordered 99 engines for Rs 5,375 crore in Aug 2021) on time. Other issues related to software and radar have also faced hurdles but are expected to be resolved shortly.”Noting that HAL has expanded its production capacity by setting up another production line in Nashik, to add to the two existing ones at Bengaluru, Sunil said, “As of today, we have 10 Tejas Mark-1A aircraft ready. So far, we have received three GE engines. We expect that we shall be able to deliver at least 2 aircraft to IAF next month.”GE has assured us that they will ramp up engine deliveries and give us 12 engines this year and 20 engines in the next fiscal,” he added. For the new 97-jet contract, HAL will soon ink a deal with GE for 113 more engines for over $1 billion.
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