IAF dy chief-led team to monitor Tejas deal
BIANNUAL REVIEW BY STAKEHOLDERS IS PLANNED, TO UNDERTAKE CORRECTIONS TO ENABLE HAL TO DELIVER RATED PRODUCTION
BENGALURU: A three-star Indian Air Force officer will head a team that will monitor the ₹48,000 crore LCA (light combat aircraft) MK-1A contract awarded to state-run aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a senior defence ministry officer said at Aero India-2021 on Thursday.
The monitoring team will ensure timely delivery of the 83 aircraft on order.
“Right from the contract signing, an integrated project monitoring team headed by the deputy chief of air staff will closely monitor the implementation of the contract. Biannual review by all stakeholders is planned, to undertake course corrections needed to enable HAL to deliver the rated production,” said VL Kantha Rao, director general (acquisition) in the ministry.
The Rafale project is also being monitored by the deputy chief of IAF, Air Marshal Sandeep Singh.
The defence ministry on Wednesday awarded HAL the contract for the MK-1A jets. The first aircraft will be delivered to the air force in three years, with the rest being supplied by 2030. The deal involves the supply of 73 MK-1A fighter jets and 10 LCA Mk-1 trainers.
Addressing a press conference, HAL chairperson R Madhavan said the company will try to reduce the delivery time by a year (2029). He said the first 20 of the 83 aircraft on order will come with an Israeli radar and the rest will be equipped with the locally-made Uttam radar, increasing the aircraft’s indigenous content.
Madhavan said a few Southeast and West Asian countries have shown interest in the aircraft – the jet costs Rs 309 crore apiece while the trainer version costs Rs 280 crore.
“The pricing is very competitive. That’s why there is so much interest in the aircraft outside the country,” he said.
Former IAF vice chief Air Marshal KK Nohwar (retd) said, “The LCA MK-1A holds good export potential as India is offering a modern aircraft at a competitive price. It will be value for money as the aircraft will be a lot cheaper than what Western countries have to offer.”
On Tuesday, defence minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated HAL’S second LCA plant in the city to increase the yearly production rate of the fighter jet from eight to 16. The deal for the 83 MK-1A jets will take the total number of Tejas variants ordered to 123. The 40 LCAS already ordered by IAF are in the initial operational clearance and the more advanced final operational clearance configurations.