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The long-delayed induction of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk 1A into the Indian Air Force has run into fresh uncertainty, with sharply differing positions emerging between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the IAF over whether the first batch of fighters is actually ready for delivery.
The first lot of Tejas Mk 1A aircraft was originally scheduled to be handed over to the IAF in March 2024, but induction has now slipped by over two years. Despite HAL’s assertion this week that five aircraft are “fully ready” for delivery, Air Force sources maintain that several critical steps remain incomplete before the jets can be accepted into service.
HAL, in a clarification issued on Thursday, said five Tejas Mk 1A fighters have been built with major contracted capabilities incorporated and are ready for induction, adding that another nine aircraft have already flown and will be made ready once engines are received from US firm General Electric. The company attributed the broader delay primarily to disruptions in the supply of the F404-IN20 engines, while asserting that the engine supply outlook is now “positive” and aligned with its delivery plans for the current financial year.
The IAF, however, presents a markedly different picture.
According to Air Force sources, HAL has not yet made a formal delivery offer for the aircraft, a procedural step that must precede certification and acceptance trials. More importantly, the IAF insists that the fighters will only be inducted once they fully meet the Air Staff Quality Requirements (ASQR). This process involves extensive testing and certification and cannot be compressed without compromising operational standards.
“There is still some work pending,” an IAF source said, adding that while weapons trials may have been completed and the radar integrated, full system-level integration remains incomplete. “The radar has to be in sync with all other systems, not just capable of weapons release,” the source said, underlining that integration is assessed as a holistic combat capability rather than a checklist of individual subsystems.
IAF sources also stressed that the aircraft have not yet been certified by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), a mandatory requirement before any fighter can be inducted into squadron service. Without CEMILAC clearance, the Air Force cannot commence induction or acceptance trials, which themselves take several months to complete.
“HAL has not notified the induction test to the IAF as yet,” a source said, pointing out that ASQR-related trials are time-consuming and non-negotiable. “Without ASQR clearance, the Air Force cannot fly the aircraft.”
The divergence in positions is not new.
Ever since the Rs 48,000-crore contract for 83 Tejas Mk 1A aircraft was signed in February 2021, HAL has given multiple delivery timelines that have not been met, while repeatedly attributing slippages to engine supply delays from GE.
HAL maintains that while design and development issues have been addressed, it remains in discussions with the IAF to deliver the aircraft at the earliest. The company has also said that 15 aircraft are currently in a ready configuration, with plans to have around 20 available by the end of the year as engine deliveries stabilise.
The Air Force, facing a steep shortage of fighter squadrons, is nonetheless unwilling to induct aircraft in a partial or interim configuration. Defence sources say the IAF plans a comprehensive review of the LCA Mk 1A programme in May, after an earlier assessment conducted in December, before taking a final call on acceptance timelines. Most major aircraft programmes are expected to reach critical milestones by April 2026, and the Mk 1A review will be considered in that broader context.
“The delivery timeline would be decided only after that,” a defence source said.
The stakes are high for both sides.
The IAF has ordered 180 LCA Mk 1A fighters in two tranches, with the aircraft intended to replace ageing MiG-21 variants and arrest the steady decline in squadron strength. The Mk 1A, featuring higher indigenous content and systems such as the Uttam AESA radar, electronic warfare suites and upgraded avionics, is positioned as a key near-term solution until more advanced platforms like the LCA Mk 2 and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft enter service, which are far off.
For HAL, the programme is central to its combat aircraft roadmap, with production now spread across two assembly lines in Bengaluru and a third line in Nashik, which conducted the first flight of a Mk 1A prototype last October. The company is also juggling parallel projects, including the LCA Mk 2, the CATS Warrior loyal wingman programme, and multiple helicopter platforms post-2032, even as it awaits clarity on its role in the AMCA programme.
As things stand, the Tejas Mk 1A remains caught between HAL’s assertion of readiness and the IAF’s insistence on full certification and operational clearance, with the gap between the two positions continuing to delay the aircraft’s long-awaited entry into frontline service.
Ravi Shankar/Dhruv
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
