Bangalore: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has proposed a public private partnership (PPP) model to set up more production lines for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) TEJAS, as the force gets set to induct nearly 300 variants of the indigenous fighters over the next decade and half.

Not only Tejas, the IAF will be keen to induct the fifth generation fighter jet called Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), which it will eventually induct in large numbers.

“The performance of the TEJAS at Tarang Shakti (an international air exercise being held by India) has been exemplary. Issue is matching the production capability with our requirements. Our present orders of 83 TEJAS MK-1A, which will be followed up with 97 more, will definitely take a few years to fructify,” IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhary told reporters here.

He added: “The way forward is to diversify production lines, have more public private partnerships or joint ventures with private partners to have multiple weaponry lines as well as multiple production lines.”

The IAF chief was responding to a query on how India can afford to try and sell the TEJAS to other countries when deliveries for its own air force is delayed.

Elaborating further, he said there is a need to diversify and set up more production lines. “It could be any model but HAL needs to take the lead,” he said.

His comments come at a time when the IAF is facing a severe shortage in its fighter strength and the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has failed to deliver.

Of the initial order of 40 TEJAS by the IAF, HAL has delivered only 36 so far.

The IAF had also placed an order for 83 TEJAS MK-1A in 2021, deliveries of which were to begin from March this year, but none have been delivered so far.

In the future, the IAF plans to place orders for at least 120 TEJAS MK-2, all of which will be built by HAL.

While HAL claims they now have a production capacity of 24 TEJAS in a year, the track record so far does not inspire confidence in the IAF.

Sources said that HAL will eventually end up with a plethora of orders with regard to fighters and multiple helicopter variants. They added that it is important to rope in at least one or two private players to set up production lines which can be scaled up with time.

Agencies