An Indian Air Force Tejas light combat aircraft from No. 18 Squadron. (Photo: MoD)
New Delhi: State-owned aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has received the first F404-IN20 engine from the United States’s engine manufacture GE Aerospace on Tuesday, for the light combat aircraft (LCA) Mk1A fighter jet after a delay of two years. It will arrive at Bengaluru in April.
According to the GE Aerospace’s commitment, the company will deliver another 11 engines by December 2025.
Read also: Tejas LCA fighter – Indian Air Force faces further delays in warplanes’ deliveries from HAL
In 2021, HAL and GE had inked a contract for 99 F404-IN20 engines, worth ₹5,400 crore, to equip the LCA-Mk1A fighter aircraft. It was supposed to be delivered in 2023 but due to the supply chain issue erupted in the wake of Russia-Ukraine conflict it got delayed.
“The first engine to power the LCA-Mk1A is currently undergoing the final round of checks on the test bed at the GE facility in Lynn. It is expected to arrive in India in April,” a defence source said.
Read Also: Indian Air Force chief ACM AP Singh raises concerns over HAL’s Tejas delivery
At Aero India in February, HAL Chairman and Managing Director DK Sunil said that 12 jets would be ready this year.
According to a blog on the company's website, the F404-IN20 engine is a tailored design for India's single-engine fighter with the highest thrust within the F404 family and a higher-flow fan, unique single-crystal turbine blades, and numerous special components.
The F404 engine is one of the most successful in military aviation history, powers thousands of combat aircraft worldwide, as per GE Aerospace.
Read Also: IAF chief Air Chief Marshal APS Singh rebukes HAL over Tejas-Mk1A delays, video sparks debate
The American aircraft engine supplier further added that GE Aerospace, by 2016, had fulfilled its commitment to HAL and delivered 65 F404-IN20 engines for the LCA Tejas.
With no additional engine orders on the horizon, the production line for F404-IN20 was shut down.
However, when HAL ordered an additional 99 engines in 2021 for the Tejas Mk1A LCA, our team began the complex task of restarting the F404-IN20 production line, which had been dormant for five years, and re-engaging the engine's global supply chain, the company added.
In February 2021, HAL bagged the order for 83 Tejas Mk-1A worth ₹48,000 crore, as India Sentinels had reported earlier.
