HAL LCA Tejas: Updates, News & Discussions

[Vkdindian1]

Another analysis of not only Tejas delays but also a little insight into AMCA. Looks unbiased and straight. It seems HAL has been taking the IAF for a ride all this time. I guess, IAF has said no more.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[Trailer23]

Another analysis of not only Tejas delays but also a little insight into AMCA. Looks unbiased and straight. It seems HAL has been taking the IAF for a ride all this time. I guess, IAF has said no more.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Tell that to...

Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.

You know what's really funny... You guys are so over your head with whole TEJAs fiasco that I fail to understand how your Media (& so-called Think Tanks like IDRW) troll Pakistan on unble to Deliver jets to other Air Forces.

Has India sold even a single TEJAs to any Nation?

Has Pakistan delayed any JF-17 to any of its customers (to date).

Good Luck to HAL - the sinking Aviaion Ship.

 

[Vkdindian1]

Has India sold even a single TEJAs to any Nation?

No.

Has Pakistan delayed any JF-17 to any of its customers (to date).

No.
But there is a big difference here. The difference is that JF had the Chinese industrial might behind it and remains behind it. Secondly, PAF had complete control over it, on all aspects. No bureaucracy at all. While it was completely different this side.
Credit to PAF for getting it done very well. IAF didn’t even have the say.

HAL has been a pain. But we can’t do away with HAL. That’s why the wait.
It will turn around eventually and Tejas isn’t a bad machine either. In fact a very capable one. Even if it is delayed to mid of this year, it is going to be a great enabler. We need numbers and Tejas is fairly good at what it is supposed to do.

 

[Trailer23]

No.
No.
But there is a big difference here. The difference is that JF had the Chinese industrial might behind it and remains behind it. Secondly, PAF had complete control over it, on all aspects. No bureaucracy at all. While it was completely different this side.
Credit to PAF for getting it done very well. IAF didn’t even have the say.

HAL has been a pain. But we can’t do away with HAL. That’s why the wait.
It will turn around eventually and Tejas isn’t a bad machine either. In fact a very capable one. Even if it is delayed to mid of this year, it is going to be a great enabler. We need numbers and Tejas is fairly good at what it is supposed to do.

That's all great..., but I fail to understand the 2 points you made that I have highlighted above.

How exactly can you claim that its a capable jet or that its fair good at what its supposed to do ...

There are literally a handful in Service & haven't achieved anything so far.

The only true highlight its had - is a Crash in Dubai*.

*Coincidentally its the same Air Show where Indian Media/ Social Media were trolling Pakistan's JF-17 that...

1) It was scared
2) Was broken
3) Did not have fuel to perform (but had enough fuel for a trip to Dubai)
4) Was denied Aerial Display by Officials as they said it wasn't reliable enough

To me the TEJAs is a mistake. Its the child a couple have too late in the game & regret having it.

I truly believe this Topic will keep on going until we're in 2028. At some point those 2 guys on CTRL+ALT+Defense will just give up on TEJAs.

 

[CallSignMaverick]

Tell that to...


You know what's really funny... You guys are so over your head with whole TEJAs fiasco that I fail to understand how your Media (& so-called Think Tanks like IDRW) troll Pakistan on unble to Deliver jets to other Air Forces.

Has India sold even a single TEJAs to any Nation?

Has Pakistan delayed any JF-17 to any of its customers (to date).

Tejas is our own R&D upon which we are working ourselves. Otherwise HAL produced Su-30MKI under license with streamlined throughput with minimal hiccups, and still produces its engines in large numbers.

Same goes with the C-295 FAL by TASL-AirBus.

Good Luck to HAL - the sinking Aviaion Ship.

Sinking aviation ship with $30 bn in orderbook

To me the TEJAs is a mistake. Its the child a couple have too late in the game & regret having it.

No, it is a stepping stone to iterate and build new variants (Mk1A, Mk2 MWF) and subsequently AMCA. So that in long run we don't have to be dependent on others for fighters.

 

[Trailer23]

No, it is a stepping stone to iterate and build new variants (Mk1A, Mk2 MWF) and subsequently AMCA. So that in long run we don't have to be dependent on others for fighters.

That stone seems more like a Hill to me...

And yet you guys will still be dependent on others - for life (like it or not - accept it or not).

 

[CallSignMaverick]

That stone seems more like a Hill to me...

And yet you guys will still be dependent on others - for life (like it or not - accept it or not).

No, not at all. With each passing day tech is getting concentrated among a few countries only. Today only 2 countries have operational 5th generation fighters of their own design, with some others trying to make one. The list for 4th gen is a lot bigger. And shrunk to only 2 countries with 6th gen fighters. Even Russia struggled with Su-57 and it still isn't truly 5th gen, so import options are non-existent in the long term.

Even for 4th gens we only have Rafale and Russian jets while for somewhat "5th gen" we have only Su-57 with none for 6th gen and so on.

Point is, India really doesn't have any choice. Either build or perish.

 

[Oscar]

No, not at all. With each passing day tech is getting concentrated among a few countries only. Today only 2 countries have operational 5th generation fighters of their own design, with some others trying to make one. The list for 4th gen is a lot bigger. And shrunk to only 2 countries with 6th gen fighters. Even Russia struggled with Su-57 and it still isn't truly 5th gen, so import options are non-existent in the long term.

Even for 4th gens we only have Rafale and Russian jets while for somewhat "5th gen" we have only Su-57 with none for 6th gen and so on.

Point is, India really doesn't have any choice. Either build or perish.

You are considering the choice as build or perish but even within those choices there is
1. Create realistic goals
2. Sustain processes
3. Be honest about what you are doing.

So far HAL has provided no consistent record on any of those points. Technically the MKI ore rather the HAL divisions responsible for license manufacturing are the only true units actually operating in some semblance of actual work. The rest are token jets for a 50 year old project with half sitting on empty engines. That should tell of a serious problem that apparently no one actually wants ownership of and other than being driven on a trailer even this so called pro make-in-India government doesnt really have a clue on how/who/what to fix.

 

[Vkdindian1]

To me the TEJAs is a mistake. Its the child a couple have too late in the game & regret having it.

Naaah.

This child is going to be the prodigal son.

A redeemer.

 

[White Privilege]

Naaah.

This child is going to be the prodigal son.

A redeemer.

this child is playing catchup with the popular kid more than 10 years its younger out of ego. The newly released photograph is an attempt to match thunder production number, pathetic one

 

[Vkdindian1]

this child is playing catchup with the popular kid more than 10 years its younger out of ego. The newly released photograph is an attempt to match thunder production number, pathetic one

You may call him any names, but, redeemer he is.

 

[Oscar]

You may call him any names, but, redeemer he is.

A redeemer for India's secondary aerospace industry perhaps - but not for the LCA program.

 

[CallSignMaverick]

That should tell of a serious problem that apparently no one actually wants ownership of and other than being driven on a trailer even this so called pro make-in-India government doesnt really have a clue on how/who/what to fix.

Fair enough, LCA did receive step-motherly treatment from IAF... but HAL has demostrated its ability to produce the airframes nearly as per schedule with no hiccups. Issue yes, is engines, again because of 200 IQ planning of Indian military to order something that is going to go out of production and then either paying more or cribbing about it, like Mirage-2000V5, C-17, GEF404-IN20, the Garett engines of HTT-40 or the engines for Arjun tank. Again due to poor planning and lack of intent to buy hundreds in one go. Which is why F404 license production couldn't be negotiated like it is being for F414. They are almost doing the same with P8 Poseidons which are now close to their end of production along with Su-30 MKI line at Nashik, again due to delays in Super Sukhoi MLU.

 

[Oscar]

Fair enough, LCA did receive step-motherly treatment from IAF... but HAL has demostrated its ability to produce the airframes nearly as per schedule with no hiccups. Issue yes, is engines, again because of 200 IQ planning of Indian military to order something that is going to go out of production and then either paying more or cribbing about it, like Mirage-2000V5, C-17, GEF404-IN20, the Garett engines of HTT-40 or the engines for Arjun tank. Again due to poor planning and lack of intent to buy hundreds in one go. Which is why F404 license production couldn't be negotiated like it is being for F414. They are almost doing the same with P8 Poseidons which are now close to their end of production along with Su-30 MKI line at Nashik, again due to delays in Super Sukhoi MLU.

Why IAF? What is the issue with the rest of the ecosystem?

People keep trying to pin the blame for India’s defense aerospace problems on one single entity like HAL, the IAF, DRDO, the Ministry of Defence when in reality, the dysfunction runs much deeper. What we’re looking at is a cultural and systemic issue that has shaped Indian defense planning for decades, not something that any government or organization can fix overnight.

The "step-motherly treatment" of the LCA, the messy procurement timelines, and the habit of ordering systems right before production lines shut are all symptoms of the same pattern: chronic risk aversion, bureaucratic inertia, and a fragmented vision of self-reliance. HAL doing better on airframes this time is encouraging, but production success alone does not mean the ecosystem is healthy. Supply chains, design bureaus, certification authorities, and user agencies all have to move in sync, and that culture of steady, integrated coordination just isn’t mature yet.

Take engines, for instance. This isn’t just about bad planning by one branch; it’s about decades of underinvestment in indigenous propulsion, lack of industrial continuity, and a mindset that sees “buying foreign” as less risky than developing domestic capability. Each project be it Mirage upgrades, Arjun tanks, or the HTT-40 shows a recurring pattern: delayed orders, limited quantities, and shifting specs that make economies of scale impossible. The private sector, meanwhile, has been hesitant to invest heavily in defense manufacturing because of policy ambivalence over the years.

These aren’t issues you fix by swapping leaders or signing new MoUs. They reflect a technical culture that rewards procedural compliance more than engineering creativity, procurement that prioritizes paperwork over delivery, and users that expect perfection from prototypes built in an environment where failure is punished instead of learned from. Until that mindset changes across the ecosystem, no matter how many hurdles the current government tries to remove, the outcomes will remain incremental.

The goal shouldn’t just be to make HAL or DRDO more efficient; it should be to create a defense industrial culture where risk-taking, long-term funding, and trust between stakeholders are the norm rather than the exception

 

[Deino]

...

24 Tejas to be manufactured by march 2026.
Now wonder HAL is the aviation lord of South Asia

You should immediately stop consuming whatever the hell you were consuming!
It's not good for your brain!