New Delhi: GE Aerospace has shipped four more F404-IN20 engines to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Tejas-Mk1A fighter, the US company said on Wednesday.
A GE spokesperson said the engines were sent in September 2026 and the company remained focused on delivering the engines needed to power the Tejas.
The consignment follows three engines shipped in August and takes the total supplied to HAL under the current contract to 14.
The defence secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh, said at the NDTV Defence Summit 2026 that HAL would receive four engines a month from October to December. If that holds, the total would reach 22 by the end of the year.
He also indicated that HAL could deliver a squadron of Tejas-Mk1A jets to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in late 2026 or early 2027, provided radar and software integration issues are resolved.
Background
The engines are being supplied under a 2021 contract for 99 F404-IN20 units, worth ₹5,375 crore (about $716 million).
The deal covers the first 83 Tejas-Mk1A jets. The IAF has since ordered 97 more, taking the total to 180, and HAL signed a follow-on agreement in November 2025 for 113 additional engines.
Engine supply has been the main bottleneck. GE had delivered 65 engines for earlier Tejas versions by 2016, but it had closed the production line for lack of orders and had to restart it after a gap of about five years. It also had to rebuild its supply chain.
The delays left finished airframes waiting for engines, and HAL has imposed contractual penalties on GE for late supplies.
HAL says its production line is ready, with an annual capacity of 24 aircraft, but output depends on engine arrivals. The former HAL chairman D K Sunil said in April that GE had committed to supplying 20 engines between June and December 2026.
The F404-IN20 is the highest-thrust variant of the F404 family, producing up to 85 kN with afterburner.
