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'Our production capacity ramp-up initiatives are expected to meet the critical requirements of our armed forces.'
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited -- manufacturer of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, on Tuesday assured it will soon start delivering the airplane to the Indian Air Force with the technical difficulties now being resolved, amid reports of concerns raised by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Aman Preet Singh in this connection.
HAL Chairman and Managing Director D K Sunil said, "the delay is not simply attributable to just I would say laziness on part of the industry."
"There have been technical issues which have got sorted out. The concern of the air chief is understandable," he told reporters at the Aero India 2025 event.
"We have now promised that we will have all the structures ready. We have conveyed this. We have had multiple meetings at different levels. We have conveyed this. We are building this.
"And once the engines are available, this will start rolling out. I think the concern is well understood. There is no doubt on that and as a team, all of us are focused...we will start delivering the aircraft," he added.
Sunil's response came amid reports of Air Chief Marshal Singh expressing concerns over the delay in delivery of Tejas to the IAF in a purported video.
Orders for 97 Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mark 1A and 156 Light Combat Helicopters Prachand, worth Rs 1.3 trillion are at an advanced stage of clearance and are expected to materialise in three to six months, taking the order books to an expected Rs 2.5 trillion in 2025-2026, Sunil told a press conference on February 11, 2025, held on the sidelines of the second day of the five-day Aero India 2025 in Bengaluru.
The public-sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru, Sunil added, was "actively pursuing" both orders and that its order pipeline remained "very healthy".
"The next 12 months' order accretion is estimated at Rs 1.65 trillion, including the orders for the Su-30MKI upgrade, Indian Multi-Role Helicopter design and development sanction, and regular repair and overhaul orders," Sunil said.
During the nine months of this financial year, HAL received fresh orders worth Rs 55,800 crore (Rs 558 billion), comprising Rs 39,000 crore (Rs 390 billion) in manufacturing orders -- 240 AL 31 FP engines valued at Rs 25,350 crore (Rs 253.50 billion) and 12 Su-30MKI aircraft worth Rs 12,573 crore (Rs 125.73 billion) -- and Rs 16,500 crore (Rs 165 billion) in repair and overhaul orders, spares, and design and development orders, the CMD said.
Highlighting that HAL has attained Maharatna status, becoming the first defence public sector undertaking to do so, the CMD said: "HAL achieved double-digit growth, coupled with the highest revenue from operations of Rs 30,381 crore (Rs 303.81 billion) in the previous financial year."
During the same period, the company secured export orders worth Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion), he added.
The HAL CMD addressed the Indian Air Force's concerns regarding delivery delays and production capacity, stating that from FY26, HAL would be in a position to manufacture 24 LCA annually across all three production lines, as it plans to roll out the first LCA from the Nasik facility before March 2025.
The IAF's active squadrons have fallen to 31 against the authorised 42, with an ageing fleet and delayed inductions exacerbating the issue.
HAL has established three production lines for the LCA -- one each at the LCA Division and Aircraft Division in Bengaluru, both already geared for production, and a third at its Nashik facility.
These facilities will enable HAL to achieve its planned annual production capacity of 24 aircraft.
"Our production capacity ramp-up initiatives are expected to meet the critical requirements of our armed forces," added the CMD.
The first deliveries of the LCA Mk-1A were scheduled to begin by the end of 2025, Sunil said, following a delay of approximately a year.
Addressing media queries about the delay in supplying the aircraft to the IAF, he stated HAL would deliver 11 LCA Mk-1A aircraft by the end of FY26, with three of them having already completed flights at Aero India 2025.
Despite HAL being fully committed until 2030 with orders from the armed forces, the CMD said securing exports of indigenous platforms to friendly foreign countries and maximising their indigenous content remained immediate challenges for the aerospace giant.
HAL was targeting exports in Southeast Asia, North Africa, and South America, with the government working to extend lines of credit to potential buyer countries to facilitate LCA export deals.
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
