IAF Agrees To Accept Tejas Mk1A Deliveries From April With Contractual Exemptions To HAL

The Indian Air Force has relented to a Ministry of Defence push to accept deliveries of the first set of Tejas Mk1A aircraft from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited from April 2026.

However, HAL would get exemptions on meeting contractual obligations on technology infusion into the jet but without compromising on the mandatory capabilities.

The middle path was thrashed out in a multi-agency meeting among IAF, MoD, HAL, and the development agency Aeronautical Development Agency recently to speed up the induction of the indigenous Tejas aircraft.

The latest move is aimed at plugging the fast depleting combat squadron strength of the IAF, according to media reports.

Under the agreed upon terms, the IAF would allow exemptions to HAL to integrate some of the technologies not seen as an immediate requirement into the ready Tejas aircraft.

But there would be no such allowance for the capabilities such as completion of the missiles firing tests, integration of the AESA radar with the Electronic Warfare suite, and the weapons package.

These mandatory capabilities were agreed upon in 2016, pushed by the then Defence Minister later Manohar Parrikar, following which the IAF placed two orders for Tejas Mk1A — the first in 2021 for 83 aircraft and another in 2025 for 97 aircraft — for a total of 180 jets.

The IAF had already placed an order for 40 Tejas Mk1 aircraft, of which 20 were to be in the Initial Operation Clearance and another 20 in the Final Operational Clearance configurations. Post that, the IAF was to wait for the Mk2 iteration of the Tejas aircraft.

But, as an interim measure, Parrikar pushed for a Mk1A upgraded Tejas aircraft with additional capabilities so that the IAF could induct these 4.5 generation fighters to shore up its squadron numbers.

At the recent meeting, HAL is learned to have insisted that much of the pending work on the Tejas Mk1A were the responsibility of ADA and that from the manufacturing point of view, there was no delay on the part of HAL.

At a review meeting on the Tejas project in December 2025, the manufacturer also argued that most of the capabilities of Mk1A would be ready by April 2026.

It was then decided that another review of the Tejas Mk1A project would be done in April 2026, which the IAF has now insisted before it begins the acceptance trials for the five ready Tejas jets.

The IAF has repeatedly pointed out that HAL was yet to deliver two of the eight trainer Tejas aircraft for which it had contracted a long while ago.