HAL Chairman DK Sunil on Thursday dismissed speculation that India was considering French engines for its indigenous fighter programme.
“As far as my knowledge goes, there is no discussion about the French engine as far as LCM Mk2 is concerned. LCM Mk2 has been designed around the 414 engine... Our negotiations are at an advanced stage with GE. We have already had six rounds of meetings. Another round will happen now in the USA in the first week of October. We are moving at a good pace... I don’t think whatever is happening about the tariff has any impact on our discussions with GE,” Sunil told ANI.
“First an engine is identified for the role and then the aircraft is built around that. It is not easy to just pull it out... Even if you wanted to change a car engine, it would be difficult; and we are talking about a fighter. Comments (on social media) are made without knowing the complexity of the issue,” he said.
“But you can look at any aircraft manufacturer in the world. It’s always that you select the engine and then build the aircraft. This is probably an uninformed discussion or speculation,” he added.
GE Engine Supply to Ramp Up
On deliveries of GE-404 engines for the LCA Mk1A, Sunil expressed confidence that supplies will pick up.
“The ramping up is taking place. They (GE) had promised us 12 engines in a year, but perhaps now we will get 12 engines by the end of the financial year. This year, we may get 10. We will get the remaining by March. We have already built the 10th aircraft, and the 11th aircraft is ready... They are now sorting out their supply chain,” he said.
“The basic problems are done, and now the production will ramp up... Next year, they have promised us 20 engines. We have had a meeting with their top management and they are also sharing a lot of information on a regular basis about where the engine is, what the issues are. The communication has improved and we are confident that they will be able to now ramp up and meet our requirement,” he added.
On the 113 follow-on GE-404 engines, he said HAL expects to sign the contract in October. “The contract will be worth more than 1 billion. The contract negotiations are done, and the price is finalised. We are only going through the contract details, and we have to sign. Now that this main contract is signed, in October, we will sign the contract with GE for 113 engines,” he said. Mega LCA Mk1A Contract
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract with HAL for procurement of 97 LCA Mk1A aircraft for the Indian Air Force, including 68 fighters and 29 twin seaters, at a cost of over Rs 62,370 crore (excluding taxes). Deliveries will begin in 2027-28 and conclude over six years.
Calling it a landmark moment, Sunil said: “This follow-on order of 97 LCA Tejas Mark 1 Alpha. This is a follow-on order with the fighters and trainers. There will be 70% indigenous content in this order as compared to the earlier one... We will integrate the indigenous radar, EW suite, and many other equipment. This allows us to continue our supply chain. We have already concluded the follow-on order of 113 engines with General Electric.”
“Now we will be signing the contract with them. This is a very good vote of confidence by the Government of India. The work HAL is doing and the indigenous content and the ecosystem we are building and working, it is an excellent example of how the government is walking the talk of Atma nirbhartha and giving orders so that this will generate jobs downstream, not only in HAL but downstream in all our ecosystem... It is a very big boost for Atmanirbharta,” he added.
Boost to Jobs and Industry
On the broader economic impact, Sunil said the project would generate jobs and strengthen India’s private aerospace ecosystem.
“... In this aircraft, roughly 50% is the material content... These materials could be equipment, metal, any spare part or whatever we build; they are all going to come mostly from the Indian private sector... A huge number of crores will go into the indigenous supply chain that will have this downstream effect of creating jobs,” he said.
“We are trying to build those supply chains to reach the 70%. When these new indigenous radars, Uttam, Swayam or the Kavach, ...are going to be made in India. There will be a spin-off of all these companies, which will generate lots of jobs... It is going to be a very big benefit for the whole ecosystem,” he added.
*With ANI Inputs
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