JOIN USThe sense of pride over India’s building of an indigenous fighter aircraft has unfortunately been marred by questions about the long time it took for the country’s defence research and manufacturing industry to develop and finally produce it.
The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas, was handed over to the Indian Air Force (IAF) by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) last week. The comment made by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on the occasion that HAL should think out of the box to meet the timeline requirements of the defence forces summed up a sense of unease over the delays in the execution of many vital projects.
The sentiment is widely shared in the country. The development and production of an aircraft is a great achievement for any country. It is a mark of high scientific, engineering and industrial prowess. Very few countries have that ability.
But Tejas has been in the making for the last 32 years. Some might say that three decades are enough for an aircraft to be designed, developed, made, flown and even phased out. Tejas is still a work in progress, even though it has been ceremonially handed over to the IAF.
The final operational clearance may come only by the end of this year and it may take two more years for the first Tejas squadron to be deployed. The aircraft is indigenously made, but 40 per cent of it, including the engine and a part of the avionics, is foreign.
Though there will be progressive indigenisation of many parts and systems, the engine, the most important part of the aircraft, will continue to be imported. This is because the indigenously designed Kaveri engine was a failure.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the entire defence production industry has performed much below par and has failed to meet the country’s expectations. In the case of the LCA, it is true that there were many constraints. India had no developed industrial base to support aircraft manufacturing. Aerospace technology changes fast
and the IAF kept making fresh demands. Sanctions imposed by western countries adversely affected the LCA project. Even after taking all these into consideration, Tejas will not be considered a shining example of India’s scientific talent and engineering skills.
Poor work culture in the DRDO and the state-owned defence industry could have been a major factor, and the lesson from Tejas is that this culture has to change. Tejas is expected to replace the old MiG-21 aircraft, and hopefully there will not be more unscheduled delays.