In a path-breaking move, part-production of the Light Combat
Aircraft, The Tejas, has been outsourced to Indian private companies, with an
aim to speed up production to cover up the dwindling number of Indian Air Force
(IAF) fighter jets.
The IAF is operating with 33 squadrons (16-18 planes each) as
against the need for 42 squadrons mandated to effectively fight a simultaneous
two-front war with Pakistan and China.
T Suvarna Raju, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL), said, “We are getting fuselage (body) made by
private companies and the HAL, in future, will just be an integrator. We have
outsourced fuselage and the wing production to three companies and these have
to come back with deliveries in two years.”
This was part of a three-pronged plan to speed up Tejas
production, Raju said.
There are 123 Tejas jets – in two variants — on order and HAL
has an installed capacity of producing only eight planes every year. In the
past, a private company made the hull (body) of the nuclear submarine INS
Arihant.
Raju said, “The increased production rate will be visible
from 2018 when we will be able to provide 16 planes per year under a Rs
1,300-crore expansion project (at the HAL facility in Bangalore).”
The HAL CMD said the second part of the “increase-production
plan” is to use the existing facility of the hawk trainer jets and a pilot
project has already started.
The third part involves outsourcing to private companies,
thus turning HAL into an integrator – a concept adopted by leading foreign
manufacturers. This will mean the Tejas fleet of 123 jets can be delivered
earlier than planned.
The IAF
is operating with 33 squadrons (16-18 planes each) as against the need for 42
squadrons mandated to effectively fight a simultaneous two-front war with
Pakistan and China.
Source :- The Tribune
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