The Indian Air Force’s Tejas light fighter jets are set to take to the skies again next week, nearly two months after the entire fleet was grounded following an accident at a frontline air base.
DK Sunil, Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, said the issue that led to the aircraft grounding has now been resolved, paving the way for resumption of operations.
“All Tejas aircraft are scheduled to fly again from next Wednesday,” he said, indicating that the fleet of 34 aircraft is likely to become operational from April 8, news agency PTI reported. path Live updates of the US-Iran war.
The flaw was traced to onboard software
A grounding order was issued in the first week of February after one of the planes overshot the runway during landing following a training flight, damaging the airframe. It is suspected that the accident was caused by a brake failure. The location of the accident was not known.
Following the incident, the Indian Air Force initiated a detailed review of the fleet, which led to the identification of a software issue on board the aircraft.
HAL MD has confirmed that the software glitch has now been resolved.
Delivery delays are related to engine supplies
The Tejas program forms a key part of India’s efforts to enhance its air combat capabilities. Even as operations prepare to resume, delays in the delivery of the Tejas Mark 1A remain a concern.
HAL expects to deliver more than 20 aircraft by December, and six are likely to be delivered soon, Sunil said. He added that these aircraft are currently undergoing final tests, including examination of the radar, avionics and missile launch systems.
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According to a PTI report, the main bottleneck was the supply of engines from GE Aerospace, which missed several delivery deadlines for its F-404 engines used in the aircraft.
Five engines have been delivered so far, and the sixth engine is expected to be delivered soon.
News agency sources indicated that HAL has imposed penalties on GE Aerospace under the liquidated damages clause in the contract due to delay in delivery of engines.
The penalties are part of the contractual provisions associated with the schedules for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Mark 1A programme.
In February 2021, the Ministry of Defense signed an agreement $Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for 83 Tejas Mk-1A aircraft. This was followed by another agreement worth $62,370 crore in September last year for an additional 97 aircraft.
The Tejas, a single-engine, multi-role fighter, is designed for air defense, maritime reconnaissance and attack missions, and is capable of operating in high-threat environments.
(with PTI inputs)
