Indian warplane maker promises faster delivery after air chief's rebuke
By Shivam Patel
BENGALURU (Reuters) - India's state fighter jet maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) said it understood why the military was impatient over delays in delivering warplanes and would start rolling them out once General Electric supplied engines for them.
In a press conference on Tuesday, called after the emergence of a video showing the head of the air force rebuking company officials, HAL Chairman D.K. Sunil said: "The concern of the air chief is understandable. Of course, his squadron strengths are going down."
"We have now promised that we will have all the structures ready," Sunil said "We are building this. Once the engines are available, this will start rolling out."
The Indian Air Force's fleet of mainly ex-Soviet aircraft has been operating with only 31 fighter squadrons compared with a target of 42, frustrating its officials given the country's tense relations with neighbours China and Pakistan.
The Air Force has ordered 83 Light Combat Aircraft Mk-1A from HAL, an advanced variant of the operational Mk-1, with deliveries initially planned to start in February 2024 as part of a 364.68 billion rupees ($4.20 billion) contract. It plans to procure 97 more Mk-1As, which would take the total of the "Tejas" group of aircraft to 220.
But deliveries have been repeatedly delayed, including due to a slow supply of engines from GE, which has been facing supply chain issues. GE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on Wednesday.
A video filmed by defence news outlet National Defence went viral on Tuesday showing Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh at the Aero India air show in Bengaluru the previous day rebuking HAL officials.
"At the moment I am just not confident of HAL," Singh says, seating inside the cockpit of a trainer aircraft as HAL officials crouched by his side on a platform.
"I was promised that when I come here in February I will see 11 Mk1As ready, minus the engines," Singh said. "Not a single one is ready. Not impressed."
India's defence production secretary, Sanjeev Kumar, said at the same air show that production lines had stabilised both at HAL and GE, and that the Indian company would have the capacity to hand over 16 to 24 aircraft in the fiscal year that starts in April.
India's close defence partner Russia this week also offered to make its fifth-generation stealth fighter jet Sukhoi Su-57 in India for the Indian Air Force, by enhancing the Indian production line of the Sukhoi Su-30 aircraft, 260 of which are in India's fleet.
($1 = 86.8700 Indian rupees)
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