Indian Air Force News and Discussions ll

[Yasser76]

The delay in Tejas deliveries is not solely an engine-related issue. At this stage, the key challenges is that the Israeli ELTA radar has compatibility issues with the sensor-fusion architecture of Tejas's indigenous avionics, which are expected to be resolved within the next 2–3 months. Meanwhile, the indigenous UTTAM AESA radar is also under mass production.

Since UTTAM has been developed in India to work with the Tejas avionics architecture, it doesnt require integration modifications. The challenge arises when you try to integrate foreign systems with an indigenous avionics ecosystem.

The GE F404 engine, too, was specifically integrated into the Tejas airframe and its onboard systems. It cannot simply be replaced with a GE F414 or a French M88 engine without substantial engineering work.

Such a change would require modifications to the airframe and engine installation, followed by renewed integration, testing and qualification of the affected systems. Replacing an engine is not a plug-and-play process, even when the replacement engine is technologically superior.

All of the above may indeed be correct, but it does not change the facts I posted right?