{"id":2442264,"date":"2026-06-22T17:48:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T15:48:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/india-tejas-mk1a-30-fighters-grounded-ge-f404-engines-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T13:51:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:51:59","slug":"india-tejas-mk1a-30-fighters-grounded-ge-f404-engines-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/india-tejas-mk1a-30-fighters-grounded-ge-f404-engines-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"India Built 30 New Fighters It Cannot Fly"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style><\/p>\r\n<p>On the flight line at Hindustan Aeronautics in Nashik and Bengaluru sit some of the most modern fighter jets India has ever built: brand-new Tejas Mk1A light fighters in Indian Air Force grey, radars fitted, flight-test boxes ticked. There is just one problem. Not a single one has been formally handed to the Air Force.<\/p>\r\n<p>By mid-2026 HAL had assembled, flown and tested roughly thirty Mk1A airframes. The jets are, by the company\u2019s own account, essentially finished. What they are missing is the one component HAL cannot build itself \u2014 the engine.<\/p>\r\n<p>It is one of the strangest bottlenecks in modern military aviation: a fleet of combat aircraft, complete in almost every respect, grounded for want of a turbofan that has to cross an ocean to reach them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f1f3f5; border-radius: 8px; padding: 18px 22px; margin: 22px 0 26px; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.7;\"><strong style=\"display: block; margin-bottom: 8px; font-size: 17px;\">Quick Facts<\/strong><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> HAL Tejas Mk1A \u2014 single-engine 4.5-generation light fighter<br \/><strong>Built &amp; flight-tested:<\/strong> around 30<br \/><strong>Formally delivered to the IAF:<\/strong> zero<br \/><strong>Engine:<\/strong> General Electric F404-IN20 (about 84 kN with afterburner)<br \/><strong>On order:<\/strong> 83 (2021) plus 97 more cleared in 2025<br \/><strong>The bottleneck:<\/strong> late F404 engine deliveries from GE \u2014 and, in HAL\u2019s words, \u201cno Plan B\u201d<\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">Thirty Jets, Nowhere to Go<\/h2>\r\n<p>The Mk1A is the upgraded version of India\u2019s home-grown Tejas \u2014 better radar, electronic warfare suite, beyond-visual-range missiles and a faster turnaround between sorties. The Air Force ordered 83 of them in 2021 in a deal worth around \u20b948,000 crore, and in 2025 the government cleared a follow-on batch of 97 more, taking the total on order to roughly 180 aircraft.<\/p>\r\n<p>The airframes have not been the problem. HAL says five jets are fully built to the contracted standard and ready to hand over, with around thirty manufactured and tested in total. The aircraft fly. They simply cannot be delivered, because delivery means a complete, engine-fitted jet \u2014 and the engines keep arriving late.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img data-opt-id=1939660889  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"display: block; width: 100%!important; max-width: 100%!important; height: auto!important; border-radius: 6px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/tejas-mk1a-takeoff-aero-india-2025.jpg\" alt=\"HAL Tejas Mk1A taking off at Aero India 2025\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">A Tejas Mk1A rotates at Aero India 2025. The airframes are flying and tested \u2014 they are waiting on engines, not on aerodynamics. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">An Engine Problem, Not an Airframe Problem<\/h2>\r\n<p>The Tejas Mk1A is a single-engine fighter, and that engine is the General Electric F404-IN20, producing roughly 84 kilonewtons of thrust in afterburner. India does not yet build it. Every Mk1A engine is manufactured by GE in the United States and shipped to HAL for integration \u2014 which means the entire Indian programme moves at the speed of one American production line.<\/p>\r\n<p>That line has not kept pace. GE\u2019s F404 deliveries, contracted years ago, slipped repeatedly; a batch expected by the end of March 2026 came and went without the engines arriving. HAL has so far received only the first handful, which are being mated to waiting airframes. Frustrated by the delays, HAL confirmed it had imposed liquidated damages \u2014 financial penalties \u2014 on GE for missing its timelines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img data-opt-id=966177019  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"display: block; width: 100%!important; max-width: 100%!important; height: auto!important; border-radius: 6px;\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/ge-f404-engine.jpg\" alt=\"General Electric F404 turbofan engine\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">The General Electric F404 \u2014 the single turbofan the entire Mk1A line depends on. HAL has described its engine situation bluntly: there is \u201cno Plan B.\u201d Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>HAL\u2019s chairman has tried to project confidence that the worst is over, pointing to GE\u2019s new tooling and a promised ramp-up: 24 engines in financial year 2026-27, climbing to about 30 a year after that.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f8f9fa; border-left: 4px solid #1565c0; padding: 20px 22px; margin: 18px 0 24px; border-radius: 0 8px 8px 0; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.7; display: flex; gap: 20px; align-items: flex-start;\">\r\n<div><em>\u201cSince the airframes are ready and tested, it\u2019s just about the integration of engines. We are looking at the delivery of 12 aircraft by the end of this financial year.\u201d<\/em>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 10px; font-size: 14px; color: #555;\"><strong>Dr D.K. Sunil<\/strong> \u2014 Chairman and Managing Director, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">Why a Late Engine Is a Strategic Problem<\/h2>\r\n<p>The delay lands at an awkward moment. The Indian Air Force has been sliding well below its sanctioned strength of 42 fighter squadrons \u2014 it now fields around 30 \u2014 even as it retires the last of its Soviet-era <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/mig-21-fishbed\">MiG-21s<\/a>. The Mk1A was meant to be the jet that filled that gap. Every month the engines are late is a month the squadron numbers stay thin, with both China and Pakistan on India\u2019s mind.<\/p>\r\n<p>To break the dependence, India is doubling down rather than backing away. In late 2025 HAL signed a fresh deal with GE \u2014 reported at around one billion dollars \u2014 for 113 more F404 engines to be delivered between 2027 and 2032, enough to cover the Mk1A fleet with a buffer. Longer term, the heavier Tejas Mk2 and the stealthy AMCA are meant to move India toward engines it has a real stake in building.<\/p>\r\n<p>For now, though, the picture is unique in its quiet absurdity: one of the world\u2019s largest air forces has dozens of brand-new fighters it has built, flown and proven \u2014 and still cannot fly into service, because the one part it cannot make itself is stuck in a queue half a world away.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 24px 0;\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; border-radius: 8px;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VJg5km05vbQ\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-no-lazy=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited statements; Business Standard; Defence.in; Indian Defence Research Wing; Swarajya; FlightGlobal.<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mf-faq -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-block\"><style>.mf-faq-block{margin:34px 0}.mf-faq-item:not([open]) .mf-faq-answer{display:none !important}.mf-faq-block h2.mf-faq-h{padding-top:22px;margin-bottom:14px}.mf-faq-item{border:1px solid #e2e8f5;border-radius:8px;margin:0 0 10px;background:#fff}.mf-faq-item summary{list-style:none;cursor:pointer;padding:15px 50px 15px 18px;font-weight:600;color:#1a1a1a;position:relative;line-height:1.45;user-select:none}.mf-faq-item summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mf-faq-item summary::after{content:\"+\";position:absolute;right:18px;top:50%;transform:translateY(-50%);font-size:1.5em;font-weight:400;color:#5C91FF;line-height:1}.mf-faq-item[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mf-faq-item[open] summary{border-bottom:1px solid #eef1f8}.mf-faq-item summary:hover{background:#f5f8ff}.mf-faq-answer{padding:14px 18px;color:#333;line-height:1.6}.mf-faq-answer p{margin:0}.mf-faq-answer a{color:#5C91FF}<\/style>\r\n<h2 class=\"mf-faq-h\">Related Questions<\/h2>\r\n<details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>Why can't India fly its new Tejas Mk1A fighters?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>India has flight-tested around 30 HAL Tejas Mk1A jets but formally delivered zero to the Air Force, because of late deliveries of the General Electric F404-IN20 engine. HAL says there is no Plan B for the engine. The airframes are largely ready; the missing American-built powerplants are the bottleneck holding up the whole programme.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>What is the HAL Tejas Mk1A?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>The HAL Tejas Mk1A is the upgraded version of India's home-grown single-engine light fighter, with improved radar, an electronic warfare suite, beyond-visual-range missiles and faster sortie turnaround. India ordered 83 in 2021 and cleared 97 more in 2025, for roughly 180 on order. A larger successor, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/india-tejas-mk2-first-flight-2026\/\">Tejas Mk2<\/a>, is also in development.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>What engine powers the Tejas Mk1A?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>The Tejas Mk1A uses a single General Electric F404-IN20 turbofan producing about 84 kN with afterburner. Reliance on the imported engine has become the programme's weak point, as delayed GE deliveries stalled handovers. Engine dependency is a recurring theme worldwide \u2014 even Turkey is racing to build <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/turkey-f35-class-engine-kaan-tf35000\/\">its own F-35-class engine<\/a> for the KAAN.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>How many Tejas fighters has India ordered?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>India ordered 83 Tejas Mk1A jets in 2021 in a deal worth around \u20b948,000 crore, and in 2025 the government cleared a follow-on batch of 97 more \u2014 taking the total to roughly 180 aircraft. Despite the large orders, deliveries have been held up by engine supply problems rather than airframe production.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><details class=\"mf-faq-item\">\r\n<summary>Who builds the Tejas fighter?<\/summary>\r\n<div class=\"mf-faq-answer\">\r\n<p>The Tejas is built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), India's state-owned aerospace manufacturer, as the centrepiece of the country's drive for self-reliant defence production. While HAL produces the airframe domestically, the jet still depends on an imported GE engine \u2014 the gap that has left dozens of completed aircraft unable to enter service.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/details><\/div>\r\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why can't India fly its new Tejas Mk1A fighters?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"India has flight-tested around 30 HAL Tejas Mk1A jets but formally delivered zero to the Air Force, because of late deliveries of the General Electric F404-IN20 engine. HAL says there is no Plan B for the engine. 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Reliance on the imported engine has become the programme's weak point, as delayed GE deliveries stalled handovers. Engine dependency is a recurring theme worldwide \u2014 even Turkey is racing to build <a href=\\\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/turkey-f35-class-engine-kaan-tf35000\/\\\">its own F-35-class engine<\/a> for the KAAN.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many Tejas fighters has India ordered?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"India ordered 83 Tejas Mk1A jets in 2021 in a deal worth around \u20b948,000 crore, and in 2025 the government cleared a follow-on batch of 97 more \u2014 taking the total to roughly 180 aircraft. 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[&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":2442172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[664,670],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2442264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-military-aviation","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tejas Mk1A: 30 New Fighters India Cannot Fly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"HAL has built and flown roughly 30 Tejas Mk1A fighters \u2014 but none delivered, because GE&#039;s F404 engines are the one part India can&#039;t build.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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