India’s state-owned Aerospace and defence company, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will attempt to supply all the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas of Final Operational Clearance (FOC) version by the end of 2022, according to HAL Chief Managing Director R. Madhavan.
HAL will try to deliver around 6-8 LCA Tejas-FOC variant aircraft this year, Madhavan told The Hindu. He further added that they can deliver the entire quota of LCA Tejas this year provided certain crucial systems are delivered from Israel on time. Commenting on the Tejas MK-1A order by the Indian Air Force (IAF), he said that once the aircraft is configured with specific operational enhancements, it will take flight by the middle of this year which will be followed by 20-24 months of rigorous testing and evaluation. Once the key performative indices are achieved by Mk-1A, the first aircraft will be delivered, added R. Madhavan in the same report. He further added that HAL will both test as well as manufacture the LCA-MK-1A simultaneously so as to adhere to the timelines agreed upon with the IAF, especially with the addition of two new assembly lines.
Given that all the three lines are now operational, HAL is now ensuring that back-end of the supply chains, i.e., sub-assemblies by local vendors are operational as well to keep up with supply-demand dynamics, said Madhavan. He however cautioned that surge in COVID cases can disrupt the delivery.
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In May 2020, HAL had produced its first LCA-MK1 FOC variant aircraft which was then put to test. The FOC version is seen as an operational upgrade to the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) version making the fighter jet more lethal. IAF has already been delivered 16 IOC variant aircraft which serve the force No. 45 squadron (Flying Daggers) at the Sulur Air Force Station. IAF has also operationalized the No. 18 squadron (Flying Bullets) composed of FOC variants at the same air base. Once all the 24 FOC variants have been delivered (16 FOC-single seater and 8 FOC twin seater), the 45 Flying Daggers will be upgraded to the same variant.
Last year in February, the Union Cabinet headed by PM Modi gave a green signal to the IAF’s 83 LCA-MK-1A order worth ₹48000 crores which was awarded to HAL. Prior to the clearance, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh had inaugurated LCA’s second plant in Bengaluru. This move has been seen as a major fillip to the government’s objective to produce cutting-edge indigenous defence technology in a mission towards self-reliance. Speaking on the Mk-2 project, R. Madhavan said to The Hindu that “We are targeting (rolling out the first aircraft by) early 2023 but we should be able to do it slightly early.”
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HAL also expects an order for Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) from the services soon. The manufacturing of Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) is in advanced phase at HAL’s newly inaugurated facility in Tumkur in Karnataka is to be completed by March. The government recently informed the parliament that HAL will manufacture 4 Limited Series Production (LSP) LUH by 2022/23 and 8 LSP LUH by 2023/24. The PM had formally handed over the first LCH to the IAF in an event in Jhansi last month.
