A Tejas fighter jet of the Indian Air Force (IAF) that was taking part in the Dubai Airshow crashed on Friday (November 21) afternoon, plunging to the ground at around 2:10 pm local time while executing an aerial manoeuvre in front of a large crowd. The pilot was killed in the incident.
This was the second crash in the aircraft’s 24-year operational history, and the first one with a fatality; the previous crash, which occurred in May near Jaisalmer, saw the pilot eject safely.
With the workhorse MiG-21 having retired in October, Tejas is expected to step up for the IAF: orders for 182 aircraft have already been placed, with plans to induct as many as 351 Tejas fighters in the future. The IAF has previously said that old MiG squadrons will be replaced by ones flying the Tejas.
But the questions remain about the aircraft’s capabilities.
Delays in development, deliveries
The Tejas is an Indian single-engine, delta wing, multirole combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the IAF. It is the smallest and lightest supersonic fighter of its generation.
The aircraft was the product of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, whose origins could be traced to the 1980s. The programme saw multiple challenges and delays: the LCA prototype made its maiden flight in 2001, and was christened Tejas by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
It would take another 14 years of development for the aircraft to officially enter service with the IAF. Since then, the IAF has only been able to raise two operational squadrons of the Tejas, comprising 38 aircraft in total.
Orders for an additional 180 Tejas Mk1A variant have been placed; this variant has boasts several upgrades, including the integration of an advanced AESA radar and electronic warfare (EW) suite with jammers, and beyond visual range (BVR) capabilities with integration of the Derby and the indigenous ASTRA missiles. HAL is also developing the Tejas Mk2 variant, which will get more upgrades.
The IAF has often raised questions about the delay in HAL’s Tejas deliveries. In February, Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh said he had no confidence in HAL. “I was promised that when I come here in February, 11 Tejas Mk1As would be ready. And not a single one is ready… I find that HAL is just not in mission mode,” he said.
These delays have been especially worrisome in the face of the IAF’s dwindling operational strength. With the MiG-21s retiring, the IAF is now down to a fighter squadron strength of 29, less than 70% of the sanctioned strength. And this strength is set to further go down, with the IAF planning to retire older jets, including MiG-29s, Jaguars, and Mirage 2000s, by 2035.
Questions regarding performance
Keeping aside HAL’s inability to deliver, there have also been murmurings of the IAF being unsatisfied with Tejas’s performance.
While not providing details regarding the IAF’s specific complaints with the Tejas Mk1 aircraft currently in service, Air Chief Marshal Singh had said in February that the Mk1A model presented to the IAF did not meet the Air Force’s requirements. He said that just “changing the software” does not improve an aircraft’s capability. “Mazaa nahin aa raha hai (It’s not working out),” he said.
One notable issue with the Tejas has been regarding its engines. This has raised concerns regarding the aircraft’s capability and led to delays in deliveries.
In the early years of the LCA programme, the ADA, which works under the Department of Research and Development (DR&D) of the Defence Ministry, had envisioned integrating an indigenous engine to power the aircraft. The Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was tasked with the development of the Kaveri engine.
But the project turned out to be a massive failure. The insistence on developing the engine indigenously led to the Defence Ministry rejecting offers for external help, including by US-based engine-manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.
In 2008, the Kaveri project was officially delinked with the Tejas; General Electric’s F404-F2J3 engine was procured as an interim solution. This engine is now expected to power both Tejas Mk1 and Mk1A variants, with the heavier Mk2, currently still in development, set to be powered by the GE F414-INS6 engine.
The F404 engine, originally developed for the American F/A-Hornet in the 1980s, has long been critised for performance issues, especially in high altitude. While the engine is reliable and has clocked in tens of thousands of flight hours till date, experts say that it is underpowered, especially by modern standards.
This is why GE had developed the F414 series of engines less than a decade after the F404s had their first run. Performance shortfalls for the Tejas, along with maintainability and survivability of the aircraft, were officially acknowledged by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in a written response to Lok Sabha in 2018.
An IAF test pilot, who has flown the Tejas’s early prototypes, had told The Indian Express in 2017: “The LCA doesn’t meet our expectations. It needs to be escorted by more capable aircraft to come back alive.”
Consider: The Tejas Mark-1A can carry an external load of 3 tonnes compared to 5-8 tonnes of Gripen and 6.7 tonnes of F-16. While Gripen and F-16 have escort ranges of 520 km and 645 km respectively, for the Tejas it is only 300 km. The Tejas can loiter without mid-air refuelling for 59 minutes; Gripen can be out for 2.49 hours, F-16 for 2.51 hours. It takes more than 60 minutes to prepare Tejas for the next mission; for Gripen it is 23 minutes; for F-16, 21 minutes.
The ill-fated Tejas moments before crashing at the Dubai Air Show. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell) 
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