While the Indian Air Force awaits delivery of the Tejas Mk1A Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is continuing trials of the fighter aircraft, including Astra Beyond Visual Range missile and indigenous electronic warfare tests. expected to start. Sweet and Elta Radar sourced from Israel.
According to a report in Hindustan Times, trials will begin in January 2025 and the IAF is expected to take delivery of the first LCA Tejas Mk-1A by March 31. Tejas M-1A variants are indigenously designed, developed and manufactured by the nation. State-of-the-art 4th generation or higher fighter aircraft.
“The upcoming Astra missile launches, electronic warfare suite testing and ongoing software updates on the new system are the final processes before HAL delivers the first LCA Mk1A to the IAF,” the official was quoted as saying. are.
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Deliveries of the Tejas Mk1A, an advanced version of the LCA Tejas Mk1, have suffered significant delays, particularly due to GE Aerospace’s failure to supply the critical F404-IN20 engines needed to power the fighter jet.
The official added, “Although the project has been plagued by some delays, HAL has the capacity and capacity to catch up to production once the F404 engines start arriving.”
In 2021, the Ministry of Defense signed contracts for 83 LCA Tejas fighter aircraft, including 73 LCA Tejas Mk1A fighters and 10 LCA Tejas Mk1 trainer aircraft.
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“Delivery of all 83 aircraft will be completed within the next eight years. HAL will deliver the first three aircraft in the third year and will deliver 16 aircraft per year for the next five years,” the defense ministry said at the time. . However, delivery is still a long way off.
According to media reports, problems occurred a while ago on the F404 production line in Lynn, Massachusetts, but those problems have been fixed. “HAL officials were also in talks with GE’s key vendors earlier this month and things seem to be progressing well now,” HT quoted another official as saying.
