HAL inaugurates third assembly line for Tejas fighters, raises capacity to 24 fighters yearly

The Indian Defence Secretary, Giridhar Aramane, inaugurated a third assembly line for the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) in Bengaluru on Friday. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) currently operates two LCA assembly lines in the same location, producing 16 Tejas fighters annually. The new assembly line will increase the production capacity of Tejas Mark 1A from 16 to 24 aircraft per year, according to CB Ananthakrishnan, the Chairman and Managing Director of HAL. Since the Indian Air Force (IAF) has placed orders for 40 Tejas Mark 1 and 83 Tejas Mark 1A fighters from HAL, it is essential to produce them quickly, freeing up the Tejas assembly lines for building six squadrons of Tejas Mark 2 aircraft. However, HAL officials predict that the Tejas Mark 2 is unlikely to enter production until 2027-28. Developing the aircraft will involve replacing the current General Electric F-404 engine with the more powerful GE F-414 engine, upgrading avionics and weaponry, and testing the aircraft, which will take time. Therefore, HAL wants to keep the current production lines occupied until 2028 with the IAF's order of 83 Tejas Mark 1A. The Tejas Mark 1A will be faster and more agile than the current Mark 1. To achieve this, HAL will need to shave off 800 kg of weight from the current fighter, mainly from systems such as the landing gear that are currently over-engineered or built heavy for safety. The company also plans to remove 300 kg of dead weight distributed across the Mark 1 to balance the fighter evenly. During the same event, the defence secretary handed over the 100th Sukhoi-30MKI fighter that had undergone repair and overhaul (ROH) at HAL's Nashik Division to the IAF. He praised HAL's efforts in setting up a ROH facility for the Su-30MKI and a new production line for LCA manufacturing. HAL's Nashik Division has achieved a peak overhaul capacity of 20 Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft annually, despite supply chain issues caused by the current geopolitical situation. The ROH facility for its large fleet of 272 Sukhoi-30MKI was set up in 2014, the first of its kind anywhere in the world. HAL mastered ROH technology with the valuable support of the IAF, regulatory bodies, and private industries, having gained experience from manufacturing and overhauling MiG-series and Sukhoi-30MKI fighters.