Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has substantially revised its delivery projections for the financial year ending March 31, 2026, significantly scaling back its expectations for both indigenous fighter and trainer aircraft.

The state-run aerospace major now aims to deliver five TEJAS MK-1A fighters and three Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 basic trainers to the Indian Air Force by the end of the current financial year, compared to the earlier targets of ten fighter jets and twelve trainers respectively.​

The reworked delivery schedule reflects a confluence of challenges that have impacted HAL's production timelines. The primary constraint affecting both aircraft programs remains the pace of engine supply from American vendors.

For the TEJAS MK-1A, delays in the delivery of F404-IN20 turbofan engines by General Electric Aerospace have created bottlenecks in the assembly process, whilst for the HTT-40, supply disruptions in the TPE331-12B turboprop engines from Honeywell have similarly constrained production rates.

Additionally, the completion of critical weapon trials for the TEJAS MK-1A, which form an essential prerequisite before aircraft can be delivered to the IAF, has further extended the timeline.​

However, HAL officials have expressed optimism regarding recovery from these delays. The state-owned enterprise believes it can progressively make up for the current shortfall in coming years and meet its overall delivery targets to enhance the air force's combat effectiveness.

The situation remains closely monitored by the Indian Air Force, which faces serious concerns about the delayed induction of new fighters and the potential risks such delays pose to operational readiness and national defence capabilities.​

The revised delivery targets must be understood within the broader context of substantial orders placed by the IAF. The air force has secured two separate contracts for a combined total of 180 TEJAS MK-1A aircraft valued at ₹1.1 lakh crore (approximately 13.75 billion US dollars), comprising an initial order of 83 fighters signed in February 2021 and a second contract for 97 additional aircraft approved in September 2025.

The five MK-1A fighters scheduled for delivery by March 31, 2026, form part of the first contract and are expected to be delivered over a four-to-five-year execution period. Deliveries under the second order are anticipated to commence in 2027-28 and extend over six years.​

It should be noted that the program has faced considerable delay relative to initial expectations. The first aircraft under the 2021 contract was originally scheduled for delivery in March 2024, making the current revised timeline substantially behind the initially projected schedule.​

The supply of engines has become the critical bottleneck affecting the MK-1A program. General Electric Aerospace has delivered five F404-IN20 engines to date, with another twenty units expected during the 2025-26 financial year as the American firm has resolved supply chain disruptions that had previously constrained production.

The engine manufacturer has committed to delivering more than twenty engines annually from 2027 onwards, which should facilitate an acceleration in aircraft deliveries once this critical component becomes consistently available.​

Progress on weapon trials has advanced considerably and provides grounds for cautious optimism. The TEJAS MK-1A program has demonstrated steady progress through weapon trials, with another round of critical testing scheduled for late December 2025.

As these trials near completion and engine supplies stabilise in the coming year, HAL expects to be positioned to recover from current delays. The establishment of new manufacturing facilities is anticipated to further accelerate deliveries of both the TEJAS MK-1A and the HTT-40 trainer.​

HAL's production capacity has expanded significantly to support increased delivery rates. The company can manufacture sixteen TEJAS MK-1A aircraft annually at its Bangalore facility, whilst a newly inaugurated production line in Nashik, opened in October 2025 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will increase total production capacity to twenty-four jets per year. For the HTT-40 trainer, HAL's combined manufacturing capability at Bangalore and Nashik facilities allows production of approximately twenty aircraft annually.​

The HTT-40 program operates under different constraints but faces comparable engine supply difficulties. The Indian Air Force ordered seventy basic trainers valued at ₹6,838 crore approximately two years prior for the purpose of training rookie pilots, though the program has slowed considerably due to delayed supply of TPE331-12B turboprop engines from the American firm Honeywell, which has encountered global supply chain bottlenecks.

Honeywell was contractually obligated to deliver the first engine in September 2025 under a $100 million agreement signed three years earlier for the supply and manufacture of eighty-eight engines and kits, with thirty-two units supplied directly by Honeywell and the remainder manufactured by HAL through technology transfer arrangements.​

The current engine delivery schedule for the HTT-40 program extends over an extended timeline. The first engine is now anticipated in January 2026, followed by four additional units by March 31, 2026, with subsequent deliveries occurring at a rate of two engines per month.

Two series-production HTT-40 aircraft are already conducting flights powered by 'Category B' (previously used) TPE331-12B engines that originally powered prototype aircraft, demonstrating that aircraft assembly has progressed independently of the new engine supply bottleneck.

HAL was originally expected to supply twelve basic trainers to the IAF during the 2025-26 financial year under the seventy-aircraft contract, with the first delivery scheduled for September 2025, a target which has now been superseded by the revised delivery plan.​

The newly inaugurated production facilities in Nashik represent a significant infrastructure investment designed to support India's aerospace ambitions. In October 2025, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated dedicated production lines for both the TEJAS MK-1A and the HTT-40 at HAL's Nashik division.

The Nashik production line for the MK-1A, operationalised within just two years of establishment, possesses capacity to manufacture eight aircraft annually, which can be scaled to ten aircraft per year, thereby increasing HAL's total manufacturing capacity from the existing sixteen aircraft per year at Bengaluru to a combined twenty-four aircraft per year when both facilities operate at full capacity.

The project has additionally generated approximately one thousand new employment opportunities and fostered partnerships with more than forty private industry suppliers across Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, representing approximately forty per cent of the overall workload, in line with the government's broader push for public-private partnerships in defence manufacturing.​

The HTT-40 holds particular significance within the IAF's training infrastructure and pilot development pipeline. Currently, initial stage (Stage-I) flying training for all rookie pilots is conducted on Swiss-origin Pilatus PC-7 MK-II basic trainers. Following satisfactory completion of Stage-I training, pilots undergo trifurcation into fighter, transport, and helicopter streams according to aptitude and assessment. Pilots selected for the fighter stream proceed to Stage-II training on the PC-7 MK-II and Kiran MK-1A jet trainers, followed by Stage-III advanced training on British-origin Hawk advanced jet trainers before they become qualified to fly supersonic fighter aircraft. Pilots from the transport and helicopter streams undertake their Stage-II and Stage-III training on different categories of transport aircraft and helicopter types respectively.​

The challenges currently delaying the delivery of both the TEJAS MK-1A and HTT-40 aircraft extend beyond simple supply chain disruptions and reflect broader structural constraints in India's defence manufacturing ecosystem.

The IAF recognises the urgency of accelerating induction of the TEJAS MK-1A fighters, given declining squadron strength and the progressive retirement of ageing airframes such as the MiG-21 fleet.

Similarly, the shortage of basic trainers constrains the IAF's capacity to develop the next generation of qualified pilots, creating a strategic challenge that extends beyond immediate aircraft procurement to encompass long-term operational readiness and force development.​

The revised delivery targets announced by HAL represent a realistic acknowledgment of current production constraints whilst maintaining confidence in eventual recovery. With critical components now becoming available at stabilised rates and new manufacturing infrastructure now operational, the aerospace manufacturer's trajectory suggests improving performance in subsequent years, though the current financial year will see substantially fewer deliveries than initially projected.​

Based On Hindustan Times Report