India’s indigenous fighter jet program, particularly the TEJAS MK-1A, has been severely impacted by delays in the supply of General Electric’s F404-IN20 aero engines.

Though a contract for 99 engines was signed in 2021 with deliveries expected to begin in 2022, the program faced nearly a three-year delay, with the first engine arriving only in March 2025. This has caused a corresponding three-year delay in testing and production of the TEJAS MK-1A fighter jets, affecting the Indian Air Force (IAF) force structure and production targets.

The root causes include supply chain disruptions such as the financial insolvency of a South Korean supplier, and geopolitical factors like EU sanctions on Russia which froze supplies of a critical component, the Engine Charge Amplifier, sourced from a Danish company.

These geopolitical concerns are compounded by India’s neutral stance in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, leading to suspicion and indirect pressure from the West impacting engine supply reliability and timelines.

Despite GE Aerospace restarting production lines and delivering engines (three engines by September 2025, with a commitment to deliver 12 engines in 2025), the pace remains insufficient to meet HAL’s production schedule of 24 aircraft per year.

GE has indicated a maximum practical delivery rate of 10 engines per year, far below contractual expectations and HAL’s needs. This bottleneck risks prolonging the production timeline for the currently ordered 83 and the additional 97 TEJAS MK-1A aircraft.

Given these challenges and India’s long-standing inability to develop a mature indigenous fighter aircraft engine, the strategic imperative is a two-pronged approach. First, short- to medium-term mitigation through an alternate engine strategy for future TEJAS MK-1A batches, with contenders like the French SNECMA M88-4E (used in Rafale) and the Eurojet EJ-200 (used in Eurofighter Typhoon).

Both engines offer advanced performance, better thrust-to-weight ratios, and operational advantages such as commonality with existing IAF Rafale fleet or modular design for ease of maintenance. Although adopting an alternate engine would require redesign and certification within three years, it is necessary to bypass the risks of dependency on a single supplier with geopolitical constraints.

Second, the long-term focus must be on maturing and mastering the indigenous Kaveri aero engine program led by GTRE, which began in 1989 but has faced continuous setbacks.

Despite being delinked from the TEJAS program earlier due to insufficient thrust and developmental challenges, recent audits indicate the Kaveri engine has achieved significant Technology Readiness Level (TRL-6) milestones and successful flight tests on flying test beds. Spin-offs include the Kaveri Derivative Engine (KDE) for UCAVs and marine turbine projects, revealing accrued technological capabilities in metallurgy, alloys, digital engine control (FADEC), and test infrastructure.

A serious, well-funded risk-sharing partnership approach involving industry stakeholders is crucial to finally establish a mature and reliable indigenous fighter aircraft engine capability.

India’s historical struggle with indigenous engines, including the abandonment of the E-300 project in the 1960s, reflects a pattern of strategic discontinuity, insufficient long-term vision, and bureaucratic fragmentation.

Unlike China’s centralised meritocratic approach that has produced mature indigenous engines like WS-10 and WS-15, India’s approach has often lacked execution focus and accountability. Resolving India’s aero-engine challenge is now a strategic imperative akin to its nuclear or space ambitions, requiring strong leadership, funding continuity, and technology transfer partnerships while balancing geopolitical realities.

SUMMARY: India’s strategy to overcome aero-engine challenges should include:

Immediate pressure on GE to accelerate F404-IN20 engine supply for the initial batch of 83 TEJAS MK-1A jets.
Adoption of an alternate engine like SNECMA M88-4E or Eurojet EJ-200 for the second batch of 97 TEJAS MK-1A, with a dedicated design and certification timeline on a war footing.
Full-scale revitalisation and maturity push for the Kaveri engine program and its derivatives to establish an independent indigenous aero-engine capability.
Strategic partnerships combining technology transfer and domestic production to hedge against geopolitical supply risks and ensure supply security for future projects including TEJAS MK-2 and AMCA.
A top-level national focus treating aero-engine mastery as a critical strategic project with centralised accountability, funding, and policy support.

This balanced approach aligns with both India’s immediate defence needs and long-term strategic autonomy in aero-engine technology.

IDN (With Agency Inputs)