By Abhijith Ganapavaram
BENGALURU (Reuters) – India expects stable delivery of a domestically-made light combat aircraft powered by a GE engine in the upcoming fiscal year after a delay of nearly 12 months, a top government official said on Sunday.
India’s state-run planemaker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) would have the capacity to hand over 16 to 24 aircraft in the fiscal year that starts in April following stable delivery of the engine made by the aerospace division of GE, the official said.
The delivery of engines for the fighter jet named “Tejas” was due to begin in March 2024, but Indian defence ministry sources said supply chain constraints faced by GE impacted new deliveries beyond the 65 engines already delivered as of 2023.
The Indian Air Force is desperate to shore up its fighter squadrons, which have fallen to 31 from a target of 42, at a time when rival China is expanding its own air force.
“The good news is that now the production line has stabilised. Not only in HAL, but also at the engine maker GE,” India’s Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar told reporters in the southern city of Bengaluru on the eve of the biennial Aero India aerospace exhibition, which begins on Monday.
“We are working with our American partner GE … so that their supply also gets streamlined in this year 2025-26 and onwards. So that makes us believe that we would be able to meet the pace that is required,” Kumar added.
(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram and Shivam Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie Freed)
