HAL amends LCA Mk1 FOC fighter jet contract, revises contract value to Rs 6,542 crore

The Tejas aircraft is a potent platform for air combat and offensive air support missions while reconnaissance and anti-ship operations are its secondary roles.

For the production of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas LCA Mk1 FOC fighter jet, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) received orders from the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2010 for a value of Rs 5989.39 crore, which has now been revised to Rs 6,542.20 crore

HAL in a regulatory filing said on Thursday, "We wish to inform that the company has signed today an amendment to the LCA Mk1 FOC Contract dated 23rd December, 2010. The value of the Contract has been revised from Rs. 5,989.39 crore to Rs 6,542.20 crore, on account of revision in the delivery schedule

Indigenously developed Tejas jets are expected to be the mainstay of the IAF in coming years.The Tejas aircraft is a potent platform for air combat and offensive air support missions while reconnaissance and anti-ship operations are its secondary roles.

The Light Combat Aircraft Mk-1A variant is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state of the art modern 4+ generation fighter aircraft. This aircraft is equipped with critical operational capabilities of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile, Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite and Air to Air Refuelling (AAR) would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of Indian Air Force. It is the first “Buy (Indian-Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)” category procurement of combat aircrafts with an indigenous content of 50% which will progressively reach 60% by the end of the programme and about 250 out of 344 systems fitted in the aircraft will be indigenous.

Meanwhile, American defence major GE Aerospace earlier said it delivered the first of 99 F-404 aircraft engines to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Tejas light combat jet programme. State-run HAL is procuring the engines to power the Mk-1A variant of the Tejas jets.

In February 2021, the defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for the procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF. The deliveries were to begin in March last year. However, not a single aircraft has been delivered yet.

The start of supply of the F404-IN20 engines by the American aircraft defence major is expected to help the HAL start delivery of the jets to the IAF. GE Aerospace's F404 family is known to be one of the most effective aircraft engines and it powers thousands of combat jets worldwide.

"On Tuesday, 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 fighter jet," GE Aerospace said in a statement. "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 defence manufacturing capabilities," it said.

The F404-IN20 engine is a tailored design for India's single-engine fighter programme with the highest thrust within the F404 family and a higher-flow fan, unique single-crystal turbine blades, and numerous special components, the company said. GE Aerospace and Tejas teams collaborated closely for several years to customise the engine for the needs of the 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," the engine maker said.

"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," it said.

In November last year, the defence ministry accorded an initial approval to procure an additional batch of 97 Tejas jets for the IAF. GE Aerospace said 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," the company said. "Our proprietary lean operating model, flight deck, helped us alleviate bottlenecks and identify solutions to improve manufacturing processes and turnaround time," it said.

The company said it is working closely with its 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," it said.

"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," it added.

*With Agency Inputs