New Delhi: The production of India’s indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas has now picked up pace as the delivery of GE F404-IN20 engines for the Tejas Mk1A fighter jet has started rapidly from the USA. General Electric will deliver two engines every month till March 2026. India’s Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh has given this information to CNBC-TV18.
What caused the delay?
According to the report, one engine was delivered from the US in April and the second engine is expected to be received by the end of July. Let us tell you that India had signed a $ 716 million deal with General Electric to buy 99 F404-IN20 engines in 2021. Due to problems in the supply chain, the delivery of engines was not being done.
According to some reports, South Korea was not able to deliver some components due to which the schedule was pushed to March 2025. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactures the Tejas fighter aircraft and had to face a lot of criticism due to the delay in the manufacturing of the aircraft. The Indian Air Force is moving towards inducting a total of 352 Tejas aircraft, which will have both Mk1A and Mk2 variants. The annual production of Tejas is expected to reach 30 units by 2026-27.
What other weapons India is buying from America?
Apart from this, India is also planning to buy Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missile (ATGM) from America. Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh said that the talks on this deal are in the final stages. The Javelin missile is known for its ‘fire and forget’ capability. It attacks enemy tanks from above, where their security is weakest. Its range is about 2.5 kilometers and it meets the needs of the modern battlefield very well. Currently, most of the ATGM systems in the Indian Army are of the second generation and according to an estimate, the army still has a shortage of more than 68,000 missiles and more than 850 launchers. India is trying to fulfill this as soon as possible.
What is Striker Armored Fighting Vehicle?
India has also recently tested the American Striker Armored Fighting Vehicle. However, the army did not like its variant. The Defense Secretary said, “The Indian Army is looking for an amphibious variant of this system, which the US will demonstrate in future joint exercises with India.”
The Striker is an 8×8 wheeled modular armoured vehicle known for its high speed and operation in all types of terrain. It is equipped with a 30mm automatic cannon, machine gun and anti-tank missiles, making it a very lethal combat platform. It has an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection system, which keeps the soldiers safe even in dangerous situations. This vehicle is ready for network-centric warfare, that is, it is capable of real-time communication and battle management. The Amphibious variant of the Striker can run on both water and land, which makes it important even in river, swamp or coastal areas.