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 and development of Indian fighters is managed. Without that, why should other programmes managed as Tejas has been fare differently to Tejas?
What I find frustrating is that India has the potential to become a major player in military aerospace but, it seems, will not take the steps required to move towards realising that potential.
Criticism must be fair, else your motives will be questioned.
Regarding the Tejas Mk1A it is already delivering on it's promises, else you wouldn't have seen a production Tejas Mk1A fly. A few months here or there is trivial in the bigger scheme of things, which is to have a certified Tejas Mk1A that meets the customer's requirements fully before it takes on squadron service. The timelines for the Tejas Mk1A versus Tejas Mk1 itself should give a fair idea as to how much things have changed. HAL signed up for first flight in 36 months after contract signature and actually flew a production standard Tejas Mk1A 37 months after contract signature. In aerospace that would be considered a well managed program.
There are technical challenges that are not minor with each fighter program. Every where else we look there are delays galore (except for the KF-21 Boramae which is an exception).
I find it amusing that when F-16V has technical and software related delays that are running into multiple years, no one questions how come so many countries have opted for it?
Or when F-15X is still to enter service with the USAF, despite the prototypes having flown couple of years ago, why is no one asking how come they're offering F-15EX for the MRFA? I mean the F-15X is not a clean sheet design! It's a development of the F-15QA which itself is an evolutionary increment of the F-15SA and that is an iteration of the F-15E!
Private sector behemoths have also been hesitant to take up a big role even though they have been offered that with the AMCA Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) which intended to have a private sector company form a JV with HAL/ADA/DRDO for producing the AMCA. So what does that say about risk taking?
No private sector company is ready to invest the thousands of crores of rupees (hundreds of millions of $) required to become an OEM. They are all happy to get orders for parts, sub-assemblies and assemblies, even entire fuselage sections, but not to take on the role that HAL is playing in the Tejas program, which is to be the OEM.
India will eventually become a player in military aerospace, big or not time will tell, but it is not going to be easy to break into a market that is dominated by the US and some EU firms. Even China is mostly only able to export to some nations like Pakistan that don't have any other realistic options. Politics, established reputation, ability to offer credit lines, experience in running campaigns, etc. all of that matter.
South Korea with all it's success in exporting the T-50, F-50 and FA-50 to Asian countries, is only of late able to export the FA-50 to an EU nation and trust me the FA-50 that Poland selected is less capable than the Tejas Mk1A.
Exports will take time. Till India doesn't build up a reputation for it's military products, other countries will opt for the safer route of going with established players who have had their products in service for a longish time.
