Amid the significant delay in the delivery of the homegrown light combat aircraft system, Tejas Mk1 by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited due to a delay in the supply of engines from American firm GE, the Indian Air Force Chief has once dropped a bombshell saying that not a single defence project was completed on time as promised to the armed force. Speaking at a conference, Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said that the industry must adhere to the timeline or shall not promise something which cannot be delivered.

The 83 Tejas Mk1A fighter jet deal worth Rs 48,000 crore signed between the Air Force and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in February 2021 remains in waiting with not a single aircraft delivered so far. The delivery was slated to begin in March 2024.

“Timeline is a big issue. So, once a timeline is given, not a single project that I can think of has been completed on time. So this is something we have to look at. Why should we promise something which cannot be achieved? While signing the contract itself, sometimes we are sure that it is not going to come up, but we just sign the contract,” said the Air Chief Marshal.

The Air Force Chief said that the character of war is changing with new technologies coming in every day. “Operation Sindoor has given us a clear idea of where we are headed and what we need in future. So a lot of work needs to be done in realigning our own thought processes also, which is already going on,” he said.

Hailing the approval of the indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet execution programme, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said, “AMCA- advanced medium combat aircraft has been cleared for even participation by private industry, which is a very big step, and that is the kind of confidence that the nation has in the private industry today and I’m sure this is going to pave the way to bigger things coming in the future.”