The much-delayed supply of the F-404 engines from GE Aerospace to Hindustan Aeronautics, meant for the Tejas Mk1A light combat aircraft, is slated to begin from March, CNBC Awaaz has reported on October 29, citing sources.
As per a $716 million contract between GE and HAL, signed in August 2021, a large number of F404-IN20 engines for the Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraft were supposed to be delivered, but the supply has been run into delays. Though the reasons for the delay are officially unspecified, GE is reported to have conveyed to HAL delay in procuring parts in the supply chain that are crucial for the engine.
In July, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had reportedly taken up the matter of delay in the supply of GE engines with US officials during his visit in August this year.
HAL has invested in greenfield projects to augment capacity of various programs, including the Tejas aircraft, which has been a priority for the Indian Air Force. HAL is also preparing to augment its capacity to manufacture aircraft in order to expedite the delivery these Tejas Mark 1As. A new factory, critical for the LCA Tejas project is getting established in Nashik, which HAL said should become operational in October, in order to deliver 97 Mark 1A configuration LCAs. This year, HAL said it is aiming to have at least one aircraft rolled out from our Nashik division to start with. "The number of aircrafts which are going to get manufactured each year will see consistent improvement during the next 3 to 4 year timeframe," according to HAL.
To meet the demand, HAL's new facility at Nashik is expected to help ramp up production capacity to 24 fighter jets annually, from current 16. Hindustan Aeronautics has also said it is aiming to deliver prototypes of LCA Mark 2, the next generation of Tejas aircraft, by 2026-27.
"We would like to expand our capacity to see that this 83 Mark 1A contract is getting liquidated a year in advance of the contracted delivery schedule, so that we can take up the subsequent 97 at a much faster rate. And we will be able to complete the entire 97+83 latest by 2032-33."
HAL has also stated its ambitions to enter the civil MRO business, at the Nashik facility and has entered in a working arrangement with Airbus for the Airbus 320 aircraft. "It will take shape in a bigger way in years to come. We have started now and it's going to take off and we are going to augment this in the coming years," HAL has said.
HAL's order book stands at around Rs 94,000 crore as of May, which is almost Rs 12,000 crore more than last year's order book. Shares of HAL are quiet in the session, but higher by 47& on YTD basis, and more than double compared to a year ago.
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