The Indian Air Force’s unhappiness with the delays in the deliveries of the Tejas Mk1A fighter jet was on display this week at the biennial Aero India show taking place in Bangalore. The force has been banking on these jets–83 of which have been ordered– to fulfil a pressing shortfall in its strength of fighter squadrons.
While inspecting an aircraft at the air show on Monday, Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh was heard telling officials of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd that he had “no confidence” in the state-owned aerospace company.
“I can only tell you what our requirements and our worries are… At the moment, I am just not confident of HAL, which is a very wrong thing to happen,” ACM AP Singh is heard saying in a video that was captured and posted by defence news channel NationalDefence.
Air Force Chief not happy with HAL:
Indian Air Force Chief is not happy with the quality of Jets provided by HAL, he even raised concerns over delay in supply of new jets
This must be the National news, but media is discussing Ranveer Allahbadia to suppress important issues like this 🤐
pic.twitter.com/NRsPM6JmS3— Veena Jain (@DrJain21) February 12, 2025
ACM Singh goes on to say that things do not seem to be in “mission mode”. “HAL is our own company, we all have worked there… I have also served there… I find that we are just not in mission mode… everything is ho jaayega [it will happen].”
The Air Force chief then goes on to address what lies at the heart of his complaint — delays in the deliveries of Tejas Mk1A fighter jets.
“I was promised that when I come here in February, we will have 11 Mk1As ready minus the engine. And not a single is ready yet… mazaa nai aa raha hai yaar [not liking it],” ACM Singh says, with a HAL official later commenting that the officer’s remarks have been “duly noted”.
Towards the end of his conversation with the HAL officials, ACM Singh indicates that he was talking about a “drastic change” needed in the larger “system” and wasn’t trying to point fingers at “individuals”.
“I cannot point a finger because three fingers are pointing at me,” the senior officer says. “There are so many places where we have also gone wrong. Because as the product takes time, the [requirements] keep changing…”
Delays in Tejas Mk1A:
While speaking at a lecture earlier in January, the Air Force chief had pointed out how the service had yet to receive all 40 Tejas Mk1 jets ordered in 2010. The Indian Air Force currently operates only 36 Tejas Mk1 jets with deliveries of four pending.
Crucially, the force is waiting for 83 Tejas Mk1A jets — which are upgraded variants of the fighters currently in service — that were ordered in 2021.
The delays in the deliveries of the Mk1A variants have been attributed largely to a hold-up in engine supplies from the US manufacturer General Electric, which has been facing its own supply-chain issues.
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