DefenseHAL Hosts Indian Parliamentarians with Several Engineless Tejas Fighter Jets
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) hosted a Parliamentary Defense Committee on Friday at its facilities in Bengaluru, southern India, where its various aircraft were showcased.
Amid assembly line visits and flight demonstrations of fighter jets, Turbo Trainer 40, Jet Trainer, and Hawk 1 trainers, as well as Dhruv and LUH helicopters, HAL lined up eight Tejas, where a photo was taken with the delegation.
The image, however, went viral on social media because it revealed that only two fighter jets are equipped with GE F404 engines.
As is well known, the US government suspended deliveries of turbofans amid the tariff war initiated by Trump, but this did not stop the Narendra Modi administration from ordering 97 more Mk 1A fighters.
It is therefore not surprising that the previous day, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh announced that the future Indian 5th-generation fighter, under development, will be powered by an engine supplied by Safran.
The French manufacturer is already known to the Indian Air Force (IAF) for supplying the engines that power its Dassault Rafale fighters.
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