Problem of Plenty

Atul Chandra

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is leading the government’s charge for Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the aerospace and defence sector. The state-owned airframer is now contracted to deliver indigenous fighter jets, trainers and helicopters to the Indian armed forces. It is a far cry from the days when HAL was considered a ‘problem child’ to now being a vital cog in the modernisation of the Indian armed forces.

LCA Tejas is one of HAL’s successful programme with orders in hand for 123 aircraft and an AON for 97 more

Few would quibble with the fact that HAL will play a key role in the modernisation of the armed forces but some may question if enough has been done to transform the state-owned enterprise into a more efficient and competitive aerospace firm capable of competing with the best in the world. This is certainly the best time for the airframer to shake off the vestiges of the past, as it has a strong orderbook in excess of INR 81,000 crore (as on 31 March 2023).

Delivering Tejas

In February 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a contract worth nearly INR 48,000 crore for 83 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets. The order for 73 Tejas Mk-1As and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 trainers is worth INR 45,696 crores along with INR 1,202 crores allocated for design and development and infrastructure sanctions. In November 2023, the MoD accorded its approval for the acceptance of necessity (AoN) for procurement of 97 additional Tejas Mk-1As.

At the time of the February 2021 contract, it was announced that deliveries of all 83 aircraft would be completed by February 2029. HAL has a total of three production lines for the Tejas Mk-1A, two in Bengaluru and one in N