The supply of GE engines has hit the existing deliveries of 83 TEJAS MK-1A jets contracted to be made by the HAL

Undeterred by delay in the deliveries of the existing lot of TEJAS fighter jets, India is looking at testing a prototype of a more powerful and next version of the jet — TEJAS MK-2.

A high-level review meeting chaired by Samir Kamat, Chairman, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), on Friday laid down targets towards realisation of the first fly worthy prototype of Tejas Mark 2, an upgraded version of the existing TEJAS MK-1A, having a wider array of weapons and a more powerful engine.

Various stakeholders — all those associated with testing of the fly worthy prototype of TEJAS MK-2 — gave their status report on the progress. All DRDO labs involved in the development of systems and subsystems of the jet were present. The Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification and National Flight Test Centre under Aeronautical Development Agency were also part of the meet.

Sources said it was a review meeting to track the progress of TEJAS MK-2, which was on track. However, much would depend upon the engine. The jet is to be powered by US firm General Electric’s F414 engine which is planned to made in India under a joint venture between GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The JV was announced in June last year when PM Narendra Modi visited the US. The contract is yet to be signed.

The sources India was working to get a couple of F414 engines to test the flying prototype of Tejas Mark 2 even before the contract was inked. The supply of GE engines has hit the existing deliveries of 83 TEJAS MK-1A jets contracted to be made by the HAL. The jet is powered by a GE-F404 engine, which is less powerful than the GE-F414. The deliveries that were to commence in March this year, have yet not started.

TEJAS MK-2, also known as the medium weight fighter (MWF), is expected to have a 17-ton all-up weight and is bigger than TEJAS MK-1A, which weighs 13.5 tonnes. The IAF is looking at having about 180 TEJAS MK-2 jets. The US has okayed the technology transfer of 80 per cent of the engine and this incudes critical and restricted technologies like crystal blade coating, laser drilling and polymers, to name a few. The US, France, the UK and Russia have these elusive technologies.

Agencies