They are making sure we cannot export them.
The contract itself will take almost 4 years to fulfill before they can start delivering the follow-ons.
LCA Tejas Mk1 & Mk1A - News and discussions
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They are making sure we cannot export them.
The contract itself will take almost 4 years to fulfill before they can start delivering the follow-ons.
Koreans got lucky with FA-50 with localised engine production, leave aside Tejas, the gripen are getting engine sanction on selling those jets, argentina got second hand f-16 buy American or get sanctions from them,
Our engine order was too low for local production at the time.
It won't meet our schedule now. The entire point of 97 additional jets was to plug the gap between Mk1A and Mk2, so indigenization was secondary. The focus is now on F414.
Could we re-engine the f-414 in the mk1's? Heard the dimensions are pretty much the same for both engines.
Delusion of relevance.
They are actually sticking to the timeline that was agreed upon in the contract. HAL always lied and overpromised.
No, they are not. They were even fined for the delays.
If we order 97 jets this year, will they be able to deliver engines 2 years after a second engine contract is signed, or will they take 4 years again? The latter is only possible if they do not plan on delivering more than 20 engines pa.
If we go by the current timeline, it will take 8.4 years to deliver enough engines to equip each jet ordered, not counting reserves. Or effectively 10 years to get them all.
HAL did not overpromise. Our production capacity is 27 pa, but with 20 engines pa, we can deliver only 20 jets and no reserves when the IAF would like 24. Export orders were supposed to provide at least another line, so the actual engine requirement is 35-40 pa.
It was fake news.
"It has been noted that some media organisations have carried a story that India plans to impose penalties on General Electric for delay in delivery of Tejas engines. The story is factually incorrect as there was no such proposal under consideration. The contract is between HAL and GE," said a defence ministry official.
'No proposal under consideration': Defence Ministry on penalties reported to be issued on GE over fighter jet engines delay
The Defence Ministry clarifies that India has no proposal to impose penalties on General Electric for delays in Tejas engines delivery. GE, which signed a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. for F404 engines, faces global supply chain disruptions affecting its jet engine deliveries and...
At the time when contract was signed they only had two lines. Additional line is getting operationalised this year.
It was fake news.
"It has been noted that some media organisations have carried a story that India plans to impose penalties on General Electric for delay in delivery of Tejas engines. The story is factually incorrect as there was no such proposal under consideration. The contract is between HAL and GE," said a defence ministry official.
'No proposal under consideration': Defence Ministry on penalties reported to be issued on GE over fighter jet engines delay
The Defence Ministry clarifies that India has no proposal to impose penalties on General Electric for delays in Tejas engines delivery. GE, which signed a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. for F404 engines, faces global supply chain disruptions affecting its jet engine deliveries and...m.economictimes.com
At the time when contract was signed they only had two lines. Additional line is getting operationalised this year.
The report about MoD levying the penalty was wrong and was denied. But HAL was supposed to impose it and it appears they backed out to keep F414 alive. The first engine was supposed to be delivered in Nov 2023.
The third line is already operational, the first jet will roll out in a matter of weeks. These 3+1 lines are for the IAF. Export needs new lines, depending on the size of the orders secured.
At 20 engines pa, the new line is almost useless. They will have to build at all 3+1 lines at 60-70% capacity now, such a waste.
Delivering for India Today and Into the Future
On Tuesday (March 25), we were excited to deliver the first of 99 F404-IN20 engines to our valued customer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Mk 1A fight jet. It is an important milestone in our 40-year relationship with HAL and in our efforts to ensure a strong future for India’s military by developing next-generation fighters while enhancing the country’s defense manufacturing capabilities.
GE Aerospace has a strong history of military jet propulsion collaboration in India. After collaborating with the Aeronautical Development Agency in the 1980s, GE Aerospace’s F404-IN20 engine was selected for the single-engine Tejas in 2004. This was an important breakthrough for both India and GE Aerospace.
Our F404 engine family, one of the most successful in military aviation history, powers thousands of combat aircraft worldwide. The F404-IN20 engine is a tailored design for India’s single-engine fighter with the highest thrust within F404 family and a higher-flow fan, unique single-crystal turbine blades, and numerous special components. GE Aerospace and Tejas teams collaborated closely for several years to customize it for the needs of Indian Air Force. The F404 demonstrated it was an excellent fit for the Tejas LCA. On its first test flight in 2008, the aircraft climbed to numerous mission altitudes and achieved Mach 1.1 speed.
By 2016, GE Aerospace fulfilled its commitment to HAL and delivered 65 F404-IN20 engines for the Tejas LCA. 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.
Restarting a jet engine production line is a challenging process. Restarting the F404-IN20 engine line during the COVID pandemic was even more challenging. With a high focus on safety and quality, and a remarkable commitment from our supply chain teams and our suppliers and partners, we have managed to restart the line. Our proprietary lean operating model, FLIGHT DECK, helped us alleviate bottlenecks and identify solutions to improve manufacturing processes and turnaround time. Today, we are working closely with our suppliers to ramp up production on parts and materials for the F404-IN20.
We will continue to work together with our suppliers to keep the production line efficient, maintain the highest standards of safety and quality, and deliver to our customer. This week’s first engine delivery is a testament to what we have accomplished with HAL over the past 40 years, and a symbol of our combined potential to ensure a strong future for India’s military.
