The HT, quoting PTI, reported on December 12, 2025, that HAL has revised the delivery schedule for the LCA Mk-1A and HTT-40. It now aims to deliver 5 LCA Mk-1A jets and 3 HTT-40 trainers by March 2026.
HAL had earlier committed to deliver 10 LCA Mk-1A fighters and 12 HTT-40 trainers by March 2026.
HAL attributes the timeline revision for the LCA Mk-1A to delays in the completion of weapons trials and the delivery of GE F404 engines, and for the HTT-40 to delays in delivery of the Honeywell TPE331-12B turboprop engine.
LCA Mk-1A Orders
A total of 180 Tejas Mk-1A fighters are on order with HAL — 83 against an initial order placed in February 2021 and 97 under a follow-up order placed in September 2025.
HAL has created three production lines for the aircraft.
GE-F404-IN20 Delivery
Based on the initial LCA Mk-1A order, HAL placed an order for 99 GE F404 engines with General Electric (GE) Aerospace on August 17, 2021.
Ironically, when HAL placed this order, GE Aerospace had already shut down the F404-IN20 production line after fulfilling prior commitments by delivering 65 engines for the Tejas LCA by 2016, with no further orders anticipated at that time.
HAL’s August 2021 order for an additional 99 engines required reactivation of the dormant line and vendor supply chain after a five-year hiatus. The reactivation faced further challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there was a significant delay, and the first engine arrived only in March 2025.
Having resumed production in 2024, GE is now producing just a few F404 engines per month.
HAL likes to attribute LCA Mk-1A delivery timeline slippages entirely to “supply chain constraints” in the production of GE F404 engines. In reality, the slippages are largely attributable to delays in developing the Tejas Mk-1A, which led to the shutdown of the GE F404 production line. The truth is, HAL is still not ready to deliver LCA Mk-1A aircraft because of pending weapons trials.
Additional Order
The MoD, on September 26, 2025, signed a ₹62,370 crore contract with HAL for the procurement of 97 LCA Mk-1A aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), including 68 fighters and 29 twin-seaters, along with associated equipment.
Delivery of these aircraft will commence during 2027–28 and be completed over a period of six years. The aircraft will have an indigenous content of over 64%, with 67 additional items incorporated over and above the previous LCA Mk-1A contract.
To fulfil the additional order, HAL announced on November 7, 2025, that it had signed a deal with GE Aerospace for 113 F404-IN20 engines. The deal, estimated to be worth $1 billion, includes a support package for execution of the programme.
The engine deliveries will take place between 2027 and 2032, HAL said in a statement on X.
According to the HT report, HAL is confident of making good on the timeline slippages in the years ahead.
HTT-40 Orders
During DefExpo 2022, HAL and the IAF signed an agreement for the supply of 70 HTT-40 trainers to the IAF for basic training.
The Ministry of Defence, on March 7, 2023, signed a contract with HAL for the supply of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft.
Reportedly, HAL was to deliver the first trainer by September 2025 and a total of 12 trainers by March 2026. Supply of all 70 aircraft on order was to be completed over a period of six years.
TPE331-12B Engines
In July 2022, HAL signed a $100 million contract with Honeywell for 88 engines to power the HTT-40. Under the contract, Honeywell would deliver 32 engines, with the rest to be built at HAL through technology transfer.
Notably, HAL placed the order on Honeywell based on its DefExpo 2022 agreement with the IAF, without waiting for a formal contract from the MoD.
According to the HT report, the first engine is expected to arrive in January 2026, another four by March 31, and the rest at the rate of two per month.
HT also reports that two series-production HTT-40s are already flying with “Category B” (used) TPE331-12B engines, earlier fitted on prototype aircraft.
