HAL boss says company working to resolve Tejas-Mk1A issues, begins deliveries to IAF

New Delhi: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is working to resolve outstanding technical and integration issues before beginning deliveries of the LCA (light combat aircraft) Tejas-Mk1A to the Indian Air Force. The company has not committed to a firm delivery timeline, with the aircraft still required to meet the specifications agreed with the service before the first handover.

The remaining work includes radar and missile integration as well as software changes emerging during testing. HAL has maintained that deliveries will begin after these issues are resolved and the aircraft reaches the required configuration.

Speaking to ANI, HAL chairman and managing director, Ravi Kumar, said the company was still working on “one or two capabilities” and was “not there yet” as far as meeting all the required specifications was concerned. He declined to give a specific delivery date, saying software changes were also arising during testing

The production status is distinct from aircraft acceptance by the IAF. The Times of India reported that HAL has completed 27 Tejas-Mk1A airframes, although further testing and integration work remains before the first batch can be handed over. Kumar told the newspaper that Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar integration required additional testing and that some missile integration trials were still pending.

Kumar told ANI that HAL has received 10 F404-IN20 engines from GE Aerospace, which are intended for the Mk1A programme. As RNA Media reported earlier, three engines shipped in August had taken the number received under the current engine order to 10.

The IAF’s current procurement is built around two contracts covering 180 Tejas aircraft. The government approved the first procurement in 2021 for 73 Tejas Mk1A fighters and 10 Tejas trainers at ₹45,696 crore, along with ₹1,202 crore for design and infrastructure development.

The defence ministry signed the second contract with HAL in September 2025 for 97 LCA-Mk1A aircraft, comprising 68 fighters and 29 twin-seaters, at more than ₹62,370 crore excluding taxes. The ministry said deliveries under this contract are scheduled to begin during 2027–28 and be completed over six years.

Other HAL platforms enter delivery

The Mk1A work continued as HAL completed separate aircraft handovers in Bengaluru on Friday. The defence ministry said the company delivered two LCA Tejas Final Operational Clearance (FOC) twin-seat trainers and three Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) basic trainers to the IAF, along with four Dhruv Next Generation helicopters to Pawan Hans Limited.

The HTT-40s are part of a contract for 70 aircraft worth ₹6,828.36 crore. Kumar told ANI that HAL expects to complete the order over the next four to five years.

He said the company was increasingly outsourcing non-core manufacturing processes to private industry across its aircraft and helicopter programmes, while HTT-40 production had been distributed across three HAL divisions with domestic suppliers supporting the production chain.

Kumar also detailed the delivery schedule for the 10 Dhruv NG helicopters ordered by Pawan Hans. He told ANI that four were being handed over immediately, another four would be delivered by December and the remaining two would follow in the next financial year.

HAL has also begun fabricating prototypes of the Combat Air Teaming System (CATS) warrior unmanned platform, with Kumar saying certification is planned next year.