India's first Tejas Mk1A fighters could reach its air force in January after years of delays

The first Tejas Mk1A light combat aircraft is likely to be handed over to the Indian Air Force early in 2027, possibly as soon as January, ThePrint reported on Thursday 13 November, citing an unnamed source familiar with the programme. That would put the first delivery ahead of Aero India, the country's main aerospace and defence show, which runs from 8 to 12 February 2027 at Air Force Station Yelahanka in Bengaluru.

According to the source, two requirements for the jet were still outstanding, including one or two functions linked to its Israeli-made radar. Software and integration problems were being fixed, and the air force may accept some concessions so that the remaining points can be closed after the first one or two aircraft are in service, using the experience its pilots gain on them. A source at the manufacturer, state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), declined to give a date but said the air force's project management team, HAL and the certification agency were all working on the induction.

The financial daily Business Standard, reviewing HAL's results for the July to September quarter, reported that the company expects to start Mk1A deliveries in the January to March 2027 quarter and to deliver the first 10 aircraft by March 2027. It said engine supply had improved after GE Aerospace shipped three F404 engines in August and four in September, taking the total to 14. Analysts at Motilal Oswal were more cautious, assuming six deliveries in the financial year ending in March 2027 followed by a gradual ramp-up.

The programme is well behind schedule. The defence ministry ordered 83 Mk1A jets from HAL in February 2021 for 36,400 crore rupees, with deliveries due to start in February 2024 and to be completed within eight years. The slip has been blamed mainly on late deliveries of the American F404-IN20 engine: under a 2021 deal for 99 engines, the first arrived only in March 2025, although shipments were meant to begin in 2023. Integrating weapons and other systems has also taken longer than planned.

India has nonetheless doubled down on the type. In September 2025 the ministry signed a second contract, worth more than 62,370 crore rupees, for 97 more Mk1A aircraft, 68 of them single-seat fighters and 29 twin-seat versions, with deliveries expected to start in the 2027-28 financial year and run for six years.

The Mk1A is an upgraded version of the Tejas Mk1 already in squadron service. It adds an active electronically scanned array radar, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles, an electronic warfare suite and air-to-air refuelling. ELTA's EL/M-2052 radar was first meant to equip only part of the initial batch, with the rest due to receive the Uttam radar developed by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation, but HAL decided in 2025 to fit the Israeli set to all 83 because certifying the Uttam was taking longer.

The push comes from the top of the service. Air Chief Marshal Ashutosh Dixit, who took over as chief of the air staff at the end of October, said the day after assuming office that the Tejas Mk1A and Mk2, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft and Indian-made sensors and weapons were the force's highest priority. He said the air force would fight with Indian solutions and hold them in numbers large enough to sustain long operations, and that rebuilding its combat strength would be his foremost task.

That strength is at its lowest level in 60 years, according to ThePrint, with 29 active fighter squadrons against a sanctioned 42. The heavier Tejas Mk2 has yet to fly as a prototype, and the competition to pick an industrial partner for the stealthy Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft is still under way between the Tata Group and consortia led by Kalyani Group and Larsen and Toubro.

Neither the defence ministry nor the air force has announced a handover date. ThePrint's source said a January delivery depended on everything going to plan, and analysts at PL Capital told Business Standard that the pace of Mk1A deliveries and HAL's supply chain would be the key things to watch in the coming quarters.