Air Chief flays delay in delivery of Tejas aircraft

NEW DELHI, Jan 8: Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, flagged delays in the delivery of the Tejas fighter aircraft into service, calling for increased private partnership in developing defence products and providing more funds for Research and Development (R&D).

Speaking at the 21st Subroto Mukherjee Seminar on 'Atmanirbharta in Aerospace: Way Ahead', yesterday, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh talked about the emphasis on R&D and how it "loses its relevance if it is not able to meet the timeline."

Air Chief Marshal Singh also flagged the delay in procurement of the first batch of the Tejas fighter jet ordered by the Indian Air Force.

"Capacity building is important, we may not need it every time but we need to be flexible and production agencies have to invest in their advanced manufacturing processes to increase speed and upskill their manpower," Air Chief Marshal Singh said at the seminar.

"Tejas, we started inducting it in 2016...We should go back to 1984 when the project was conceived. The aircraft flew 17 years later in 2001. Then, the induction started another 16 years later in 2016. Today we are in 2024 and I (Indian Air Force) do not have the first 40 aircraft...This is the production capability. We need to do something and I'm very convinced that we need to have competition, we need to have multiple sources available so that people are wary of losing their orders, otherwise, things won't change," he added.

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme was envisioned in the late 1980s to replace the MiG-21 and Su-7 fleet. The programme got a boost in the late 90s and on January 4, 2001, the Technology Demonstrator-1 (TD-1) version of the LCA was airborne and rechristened 'Tejas', a significant moment in the Indian Air Force's history.

The Second Series Production (SP2) Tejas aircraft was given initial operational clearance in 2016. The Tejas Mk1 version was inducted in the Air Force's No. 45 Squadron - 'The Flying Daggers'. Later, another Tejas squadron, the No. 18 Squadron - 'The Flying Bullets' began operating the Mk1 variant.

The Tejas fighter jet is manufactured by the Bengaluru-headquartered Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

ACM AP Singh stressed the importance of having private players in defence manufacturing and production and said, "R&D loses its relevance if it is not able to meet the timeline. Time is a very important thing. We need to give greater leeway to the researchers. There will be failures, let's not be scared of failures. I think we are losing a lot of time because we are scared of failure...Defence is one sector where time is very important. If we don't meet the timeline, technology is of no use. So we need to learn from our failures, move on and not be scared of those failures."

"R&D funds are woefully short. We are just about at 5%, and it should be at 15% (of the defence budget). We have to make sure that these funds are increased and they are available to private players also...We need to increase the schemes to have more private players, and maybe have a competitive approach."

The Air Force chief's concerns over the delay in Tejas' procurement comes amid China's development of its '6th Generation stealth fighter jet' and its recent trials that took the internet by storm.

"As far as defence is concerned, we have concerns from our northern and western adversaries. Both of them are increasing their forces at a rapid pace. As far as China is concerned, it is not just numbers. The technology is also growing at a rapid pace. We just saw the flight of the latest new generation aircraft that they have pulled out.. the stealth fighter," the Air Chief Marshal said.

China is the second country in the world after the US to have at least two types of stealth fighter jets -- J-20 and J-35 -- have been developed in China in record time. Meanwhile, the so-called 6th generation fighter is up for trial.

The Ministry of Defence has declared 2025 as the 'year of reforms'. With an "aim to further bolster Jointness & Integration initiatives and facilitate the establishment of the Integrated Theatre Commands."

"Acquisition procedures need to be made simpler and time-sensitive to facilitate swifter and robust capability development."

"Facilitate technology transfer and knowledge sharing between the defence sector and civil industries, promoting public-private partnerships by improving ease of doing business."

"Position India as a credible exporter of defence products, fostering R&D and partnerships between Indian industries and foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers for knowledge sharing & resource integration," are among several areas for focussed intervention.

The Indian Air Force has ordered 83 Tejas Mk1A variants in a Rs 36,468 crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. In November last year, the Defence Acquisition Council cleared the project to acquire 97 more Tejas jets for the Indian Air Force. The Tejas fighter jets will be powered by US-made General Electric's F404 fighter jet engines.

The Tejas MK1A variant, the advanced version of the MK1, which is already operational in two squadrons, took to the skies on March 28 last year for a historic test flight.

The air force plans to raise the first squadron of the indigenous LCA Mark 1A fighter aircraft squadron at the Nal air base in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan near the Pakistan front. The Tejas will replace one of the two MiG-21 squadrons already stationed.

The new variants are expected to be delivered by July but a report from October last year said that the HAL will be able to deliver only two to three Tejas MK1A instead of the 16 promised to the IAF in the 2024-2025 fiscal under the deal to procure 83-such fighter jets.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh have flagged the delay in delivery of 99 GE F404 engines during their visit to the US and GE has promised to begin supply by March 2025, already two years behind the schedule.

A report on Financial Express said the Centre has imposed penalties on GE Aerospace over the two-year deal. The first timeline to deliver the engines was March 2023.

"We are working with our partner HAL and suppliers to resolve constraints and deliver F404-IN20 engines for the LCA Mk1 programme," a report said quoting GE Aerospace.

Tejas has proven to be one of the best multi-role fighters of its weight and class and has an impeccable safety record since its first flight in 2001. The 4.5 generation aircraft can be used for multiple roles like ground attack, interception, air-to-air combat and air defence.

Nigeria, Philippines, Argentina and Egypt have shown interest in procuring indigenously-developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft

Forty-two is the sanctioned squadron strength for the Indian Air Force but currently, only 31 are active. A fighter squadron has typically 18 aircraft including two trainer aircraft.

The 'Demand for Grants 2024-2025' report on defence flagged the shortage of fighter aircraft in the air force and said the IAF needs at least 180 fighter jets under the present circumstances. The strength may further deplete after the phasing out of the ageing MiG-21 which has been in service since 1963 and has undergone multiple overhauls over 60 years. The MiG-29s, SEPECAT Jaguars, and Mirage-2000s are other aircraft procured in the 1980s.

"This (falling squadron strength) will be addressed in the long run by the timely induction of Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) and LCA Mark II. Critical combat enablers like the airborne early warning aircraft, flight refuellers and special electronic intelligence and surveillance are an integral element of modern-day combat," a report quoted an IAF representative.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence noted that there has been a significant delay in the supply of light combat aircraft from HAL. The Committee recommended that if there are delays in the indigenous manufacture of multi-role fighter aircraft, the government should consider the counter-purchase of fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

It noted that the capital funding provided to the Indian Air Force was insufficient to buy a large number of fighter jets and suggested that procurement should not be delayed due to inadequate funds.

Coast Guard Chopper Crashes In Gujarat's Porbandar, 3 Dead

PORBANDAR, Jan 5: Two pilots and an aircrew diver of an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) of the Indian Coast Guard were killed when the chopper crashed and caught fire at Gujarat's Porbandar airport on Sunday, government authorities said.

The crew members killed in the accident are Commandant Saurabh, Deputy Commandant SK Yadav and Manoj Pradhan Navik, according to the defence ministry.

"An ALH MK-III helicopter of Indian Coast Guard met with an accident at Porbandar airport runway in Gujarat at about 1215 hours on January 5. The ICG helicopter, with two pilots and one aircrew diver, was on a routine training sortie," the defence ministry said in a statement.

The Dhruv chopper, which is operated by the armed forces, was on a routine sortie when it crashed, said Porbandar Superintendent of Police Bhagirathsinh Jadeja. The chopper crashed near the runway and caught fire, visuals showed. The blaze was later brought under control with the help of a fire engine, said the police officer.

The three crew members were brought out of the chopper and rushed to a hospital in Porbandar in a severely burnt condition, the police officer added.

The reason behind the crash is still not known and an inquiry has been launched.

The Indian Coast Guard is a maritime law enforcement and search and rescue agency, with jurisdiction in India's territorial waters.

The indigenously designed and developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv) is a twin engine, multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter in the 5.5 ton weight class.

Four months ago in September, three crew members went missing after the ALH MK-III helicopter fell into the Arabian Sea off Porbandar. While the bodies of two crew members were recovered subsequently, a search continued to trace Rakesh Kumar Rana, the pilot in command of the mission.

After a month-long search, the pilot's body was recovered in October off the Gujarat coast by the Coast Guard.

The chopper crashed while trying to evacuate an injured man on board motor tanker Hari Leela, nearly 30 nautical miles from the Porbandar coast.

Two years ago, a string of flaws were identified in the ALH Dhruv chopper, which is operated by the Army, Navy and the Air Force.

There were certain design and metallurgy issues in some components that were identified. The scrutiny was carried out after accidents involving the platform that had forced the Army and the Indian Air Force to ground their fleets.

The choppers that were grounded resumed their operations following the completion of the safety audit.

The Indian Navy, the IAF, the Army and the Coast Guard have a total of over 325 ALH Dhruv helicopters and all of them underwent technical checks following the incidents of accidents in 2023.