The Indian Air Force (IAF) is facing an acute fighter aircraft shortage, with only 29 active squadrons against the required strength of 42. This gap is set to worsen with the retirement of two MiG-21 squadrons this month, leaving the IAF in urgent need of nearly 250 aircraft to maintain credible operational readiness, particularly as China and Pakistan continue to expand and modernise their air combat fleets.

To address this, India has placed heavy reliance on indigenous solutions through the TEJAS Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program, which was intended to alleviate dependence on expensive foreign acquisitions. However, delays in the TEJAS MK-1A program have now raised serious concerns over timely capability augmentation.

The TEJAS MK-1A is central to the IAF’s modernisation drive. In February 2021, the government signed a landmark ₹46,000 crore contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 83 aircraft. This was bolstered in August 2025 with another ₹62,000 crore approval for 97 more, raising the total order book to 180 fighters. The original schedule envisaged deliveries commencing well before 2024.

Yet, as of today, not a single TEJAS MK-1A has entered IAF service, with HAL promising the first two deliveries only in October. The root cause of this delay lies not in HAL’s assembly lines but in the critical shortfall of engines supplied by General Electric (GE), which has a monopoly on powering both TEJAS MK-1A and its successor, TEJAS MK-2.

HAL had signed an agreement with GE for 404 F404-GE-IN20 engines to power the TEJAS MK-1A fleet. Under this deal, GE was supposed to begin deliveries in March 2024, with a target of two engines a month.

However, progress has been dismal. HAL has received only two engines so far — the first in April-May 2025 and the second shortly after. As a consequence, HAL’s effort to ramp up fighter production has stalled.

In fact, despite committing 12 engines for the current fiscal year, GE supplied none in August, further derailing schedules. The company has now assured that 4–5 engines would be delivered in September to clear the backlog. While HAL has prepared its manufacturing lines to churn out 24–30 aircraft annually, the absence of engines makes production targets meaningless.

Compounding the issue is the development of TEJAS MK-2, an enlarged and more capable successor powered by the higher-thrust GE F414 engine. India has finalised plans to acquire 414 of these engines for TEJAS MK-2, as well as for potential naval variants.

Designed to rival medium-class fighters like Rafale, the TEJAS MK-2 is expected to incorporate enhanced stealth profiling, upgraded avionics, and integration of long-range weapons.

While the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) had earlier targeted the first prototype rollout in April-May 2026, that window has slipped to late 2026 or early 2027. Some reports suggest even this revised timeline is optimistic, as the Mark-2 prototype was originally planned for this year, reflecting systemic delays in both design maturation and component availability.

The delays are deeply worrying for the IAF leadership. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, in a rare candid admission, criticised the glacial pace of progress. Despite nearly four decades of HAL’s stewardship over the TEJAS program, fewer than 40 aircraft have been delivered to frontline units.

Presently, the IAF fields only two operational TEJAS squadrons, a contribution nowhere near significant enough to offset squadron retirements. Moreover, with India’s threat environment intensifying — particularly the possibility of a two-front conflict — the absence of new fighters at scale creates major gaps in deterrence and response capabilities.

Strategic experts argue that while HAL’s internal efficiencies have improved — with expanded capacity, digiti3ed tooling, and robust supply-chain integration — the singular dependence on GE for engines is proving a critical vulnerability.

This dynamic highlights the paradox of India’s defence industrial push: while TEJAS was intended as a flagship for self-reliance under the "Atmanirbhar Bharat" program, its reliance on foreign propulsion systems undermines timelines and sovereign control.

Until the indigenous Kaveri engine achieves operational viability, which remains a long-term goal, India’s reliance on American supplies will continue. This reality sharply contrasts with China, which despite its own engine struggles, has managed to field combat squadrons of indigenous platforms like the J-10C and stealth J-20 in significant numbers.

Nevertheless, there is cautious optimism. HAL has expanded its Bengaluru and Nashik divisions to support higher rates of production once the engine flow improves. Government-to-government discussions with the United States are also ongoing to ensure GE adheres to delivery commitments, especially after the June 2023 U.S.-India agreement to co-produce F414 engines in India.

Experts suggest that once engines start arriving in steady numbers, HAL’s improved capacity could allow for a catch-up trajectory, with the IAF beginning to induct upwards of two dozen TEJAS annually from 2026 onwards.

For now, however, the TEJAS delays underscore India’s central dilemma: balancing ambitious indigenous modernisation goals against systemic weaknesses in supply chains and project execution. With squadron strength falling dangerously short of sanctioned levels, these delays have put operational readiness under question at a time when regional adversaries are rapidly modernising their fleets.

The next 12–18 months will prove decisive, both for HAL’s credibility and for India’s air power posture. If delivery schedules continue to slip, stop-gap imports may become unavoidable, potentially reversing years of self-reliance efforts that the TEJAS program was built to achieve.

Based On News18 Report