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What is the state of play now? I gather that Mk1A deliveries are held up due to a late request for changes to the aircraft. HAL is ramping up production of the type - to 16 a year soon, I think - so are frames being pushed out and stored until the changes mentioned can be applied? I guess so. It...

Can India develop the technology to make afterburning engines? How hard did it try with Kaveri before the engine was shelved? If the metallurgy required for an afterburner is very demanding, I imagine that it could benefit the hot section of Kaveri, too. PS What stops India finding people in...

I recall that Tejas Mk1 carried a lot of ballast in its nose. Has Mk1A had the dead weight of ballast in the aircraft dramatically reduced?

You don't think that the virtual monopoly enjoyed by HAL has adversely affected other players entering the fray? About the proposed SPV, what virtue is there in creating a company where the bureaucracies of HAL/ADA/DRDO are all brought together in one nightmare entity to be joined by a private...

While I think that the management of the Tejas project has been dire, I have actually championed the Tejas for the last fifteen years. I will be delighted to see the Mk1A project finally deliver a result. I would be even more delighted to see a radical shake up in the way in which procurement...

So IAF has caused further delay? Mk1A specification must have been settled and a contract to build to that spec made before Mk1A was put into production. I thought that HAL would make damned sure of delivering according to contract. According to you they did. To the outside world I think the...

Setting aside the silly chauvinistic view that Tejas will win any contract offered for a light fighter, is Nigeria a realistic prospect as a Tejas customer? idrw.org has a report dated May 21 (no link - idrw appears to prevent links to its pages) A couple of things in Tejas' favour versus...

I I'm curious. I did not know Mk1A had Russian or Ukrainian parts in it. Are they in the first Mk1A to fly?

It sounds like the schedule for delivering Mk1A to the IAF is subject to ongoing “disruptions in the supply chain” for the programme. I wonder when ongoing “disruptions in the supply chain” for the programme are scheduled to come to an end. HAL delays delivery of first Tejas Mk 1A to mid-2024...

I had a look on wiki to see what fighters Armenia have: 4 x Su-30. What would a package including 8 x Mk1A cost to get them started on building a credible fighter force? If Mk1A could do the work of Su-25, also in their inventory, it could reduce costs, too, in the long run. A small order would...

@Roland55 Being in South America, do you have a view on Mk1A sales prospects on your continent? I think of Colombia and Peru which I understand need to replace their old fighters. PS I am aware that Colombia was reported to have selected Rafale but it seems could not raise the funds to do a...

@karn - I wasn't questioning the convoluted ramifications of GOI being customer and shareholder in HAL Ltd.

IIRC HAL plans to produce 8 x Mk1A FY2024-2025, then 16 x Mk1A FY2025-2026. It will be reassuring if they actually do that. Only 11 and a bit months to go to find out about the 8 and 23 and a bit months to go to find out about the 16! How are the Tejas trainers going? Are they on schedule?

I said the GOI controlled the company. With the GOI being the majority shareholder, it ultimately decides what is done in the company - as if it owned all the shares.. Any shareholder can sell the shares it owns if the shareholder wishes to recoup some/all/more than the money it spent buying its...

About the Philippines again, according to what I have read, the Philippines needs to fill 2 requirements: a maritime strike requirement (Mk1A+Brahmos fits the bill) and an air force requirement where Mk1A does not fit the bill. Why would the PAF accept an aircraft that does not meet...

??? In my book a single shareholder with more than 50% of the shares in a company - in this case GOI - controls the company. Other countries in the market for a light fighter will observe with great interest how Mk1A's first export customer gets on with the aircraft. If support proves to be...

Agree about refuelling probe if they don't have air tankers and have no plans for them in the pipeline.

Agreed about Typhoon - a waste of time and money offering it to India. It has proved to be extremely expensive to operate and IMO has no chance of winning, given India's billion dollar investment in 'indianisation' of Rafale and costs of setting up to operate a particular type. Good for India to...

Disrespect unintended but I do not see any country wanting to team up with a chaotic, unfit for purpose, state controlled, bureaucracy-riddled military aviation sector such as is found in India. As a measure of how deeply inadequate the government-controlled sector is, the private sector in...

Complete waste of time and money by HAL. The only way Argentina would have ever bought Tejas would have been if it was the only light fighter available. Not the case.