India has finalized a contract with GE Aerospace for 113 F404-IN20 engines to power the next 97 Tejas Mk-1A light combat aircraft, ensuring production continuity and stabilizing the Indian Air Force’s fleet through the 2030s.
The Tejas Mk-1A features a single-engine, tailless delta design equipped with AESA radar, a digital electronic warfare suite, and nine hardpoints for air-to-air and precision strike weapons. Its F404 engine delivers 85 kN of thrust, enabling +8 g maneuverability and a combat radius of approximately 500 km, making it effective for air defense, rapid-response missions, and frontline operations.
India’s indigenous Kaveri engine program fell short of performance requirements, necessitating reliance on U.S.-made F404 engines. Delays in earlier deliveries caused bottlenecks in aircraft assembly lines, which the new engine order is intended to resolve ahead of the second Mk-1A batch.
Despite its compact size, the aircraft now carries modern weaponry and avionics, allowing it to perform critical missions along the country’s borders while being supported by an expanding domestic industrial base. With HAL factories in Bengaluru and Nashik and increasing involvement of private suppliers, India is gradually building a sustainable fighter production ecosystem.
Analysts note that the deal strengthens India’s long-term air combat capabilities and export credibility, while serving as a bridge to future projects, including the co-production of F414 engines for the Tejas Mk-2 and the indigenous AMCA stealth fighter program. The Tejas Mk-1A continues to provide operational density at a cost-effective scale in a region where Pakistan and China field increasingly advanced and networked aircraft.
