IAF Chief Slams Delays in Deliveries of Indigenous Warplanes
18:38 29.05.2025 (Updated: 20:25 29.05.2025)
© Photo : Indian Air Force / India's Tejas Fighter Jet
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Known for calling a spade a spade, the current Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, hasn't minced words regarding the country's sub-standard track record in delivering homegrown military platforms on time.
In a stinging attack on India's defence industry, the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh has cast doubts about the ability of the nation's military-industrial complex, especially the state-run aviation behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), to supply modern aircraft within a stipulated time frame.
"Many times, we know while signing contracts that those systems will never come. Timelines are a big issue. Not a single project I can think of is completed on time. Why should we promise something that cannot be achieved?" Singh asked during his address at the CII Annual Business Summit in New Delhi on Thursday.
"Deliveries of Tejas Mk1 are delayed. The prototype of Tejas Mk2 is yet to roll out. There is no prototype yet of the stealth AMCA fighter," he added.
It is worth noting that the IAF is currently operating with depleted squadron numbers. Against a sanctioned strength of 42 squadrons, India's sky guarding force is down 31 squadrons at present due to the phasing out of vintage-era platforms like the MiG-21s. Besides, more squadrons of multiple older fourth-generation warplanes like the Jaguar, Mirage-2000, and MiG-29 are set to retire by 2030.
🚨🇮🇳🇺🇸IAF CHIEF BLASTS US OVER TEJAS MK1 DELAYS
— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) May 29, 2025
भारतीय वायुसेना प्रमुख ने तेजस MK1 के लिए आपूर्ति में देरी को लेकर अमेरिका पर निशाना साधा
“Not a single project that has been completed on time”: Amar Preet Singh. pic.twitter.com/aji93qYzzj
However, what has come as a cause for worry for the IAF is the inordinate delays in the production of the LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets, which HAL blames on the American giant General Electric (GE). For the unversed, GE provides the F-404 engines that power the Tejas Mk-1A combat planes. For the record, for more than a year, there have been persistent delays in GE's deliveries of the F-404 engines to India.
Interestingly, the IAF signed an over $4 billion contract with HAL for the procurement of 83 LCA Tejas Mk-1A aircraft in 2021, but none of them have been delivered to it so far.
What's more, this isn't the first time the IAF chief has made critical comments about the HAL.
Interestingly, the IAF signed an over $4 billion contract with HAL for the procurement of 83 LCA Tejas Mk-1A aircraft in 2021, but none of them have been delivered to it so far.
What's more, this isn't the first time the IAF chief has made critical comments about the HAL.
"You have to alleviate (our) worries and make us more confident. At the moment, I am just not confident of HAL, which is a very wrong thing to happen," Singh could be heard saying in a video during the AERO India 2025 in Bengaluru in February this year.
