Defence Ministry To Sign ₹67,000 Cr Deal With HAL For 97 Tejas Mark-1A Jets Today: Report

The Ministry of Defence is set to formally sign a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) for 97 Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets, CNBC-TV18 quoted government sources as saying.

The report also claimed

that the deal is likely to be valued at nearly Rs 67,000 crore.

Deliveries of Tejas Mark-1A were expected to begin last March, with at least 16 planes to be delivered every year.

However, in the present context, the IAF has not even received a single jet from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

Air Force Chief Amar Preet Singh, earlier this year, had flagged the issue of consistent delays as he publicly expressed displeasure over the delay in the delivery of Tejas Mk1A fighter jets by HAL.

Earlier, IANS quoted defence sources as saying that the Indian Air Force is all set to increase its offensive strength beyond the mandated 42 fighter aircraft squadrons.

“Given the situation in the South Asia region and the geopolitical turbulences, top officials and the policy makers believe that the mandated strength of 42 fighter aircraft squadrons is not enough,” a defence source was quoted as saying.

“According to an internal review, the mandated strength of 42 is not enough, and there is a possibility that the number may see a spike in the coming future,” the source added.

Earlier this month, defence public sector undertaking HAL received the third GE 404 engine from US tech giant General Electric (GE) Aerospace to power India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A.

IANS quoted the Bengaluru-headquartered defence PSU as saying that while the third GE 404 engine has been received, the fourth will be delivered by the US firm by the end of the month.

“HAL has received the third GE 404 engine for LCA Mk1A. One more engine is scheduled to be delivered by the end of September. Engine supply chain improvement will pave the way for LCA Mk1A deliveries,” HAL said in a statement.

In January 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the procurement of 73 LCA Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraft and 10 LCA Tejas Mk1 trainer aircraft at the cost of Rs 45,696 crore, along with design and development of infrastructure sanctions worth Rs 1,202 crore.

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