【Text by Observer Net, Wang Yi】India signed a contract with the United States last week to purchase 113 American engines for its domestically developed "Tejas" fighter jet. While military experts in the country celebrated the fact that trade tensions had not affected defense cooperation between the two countries, some media outlets noted that of the 99 engines India previously ordered from the United States, only four have been delivered so far, and it still lags behind the Chinese-made aircraft possessed by Pakistan.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) announced on the 7th that it had signed a $1 billion contract with General Electric (GE) to procure 113 F404-GE-IN20 engines and supporting packages for the "Tejas" Mk1A aircraft, with deliveries expected between 2027 and 2032.

The Hong Kong South China Morning Post reported on November 12 that this agreement was reached against the backdrop of US President Trump imposing a 50% tariff on Indian goods due to India's purchase of Russian oil, which led some Indian military observers to exclaim about the "resilience of US-India defense cooperation."

Retired Indian Navy Rear Admiral Uday Bhaskar believed that this deal indicated that the Indo-US strategic partnership first established by the Bush administration in 2008 was being accepted by the Trump team, and he expressed hope that there would be no policy reversal in the short term.

Bhaskar stated that if the technology transfer in the GE agreement could be implemented, it would provide an important opportunity for India to develop new generation fighter jet engines independently, but India still needs to overcome many domestic technological and industrial obstacles.

The report pointed out that this is the second F404 engine contract signed by HAL and GE. The two parties had previously signed a contract worth approximately $716 million in 2021 to supply 99 engines for the first batch of 83 "Tejas" Mk1A aircraft. Together, these two contracts can support the engine supply for nearly 180 "Tejas" Mk1A aircraft.

F404 Engine, India Asia International News

However, the execution of this contract has been slow. The Times of India pointed out that currently, HAL has only received four of the initial 99 engines, with the fifth expected to arrive later this month. However, GE promised that as supply stabilizes, it can deliver 20 engines per year.

Christopher Clay, a political scholar at the University at Albany and a researcher at the Stimson Center think tank, said, "The 'Tejas' Mk1A fighter jet was originally designed based on the F404 engine, and replacing the power system temporarily would greatly delay progress and complicate the procedures."

The "Tejas" Mk1A fighter jet is positioned as the main replacement for India's MiG-21 fighter jets, which are known as "flying coffins" due to frequent accidents. After the retirement of the MiG-21 fighter jets, the number of fighter squadrons in the Indian Air Force dropped to 29, far below the statutory 42.

Kartik Bommakanti, a senior researcher at the Delhi Strategic Research Program of the Observer Research Foundation, analyzed that the collaboration between HAL and GE shows that despite the tense trade relations, India-US defense relations remain solid. "This deal injects momentum into India's indigenous development process and provides the air force with a domestically produced light interceptor, even though the engine comes from abroad," he added. He also mentioned that this helps address the shortage of air force units in India.

According to the South China Morning Post, the Indian Air Force currently operates "Rafale", MiG-29, Jaguar attack aircraft, and Mirage-2000 fighters, but analysts say that Pakistan, which possesses Chinese aircraft, still has certain technical advantages, including the JF-17 fighter jet, the J-10C, and older F-7PG aircraft.

Bommakanti pointed out that the "Astra" missile equipped on the "Tejas" fighter jet has a range of 80 to 110 kilometers, which is behind the PL-15 used by the JF-17 fighter jet of Pakistan, which has a range of 200 to 300 kilometers.

The Times of India also mentioned that the contract for the first batch of 83 "Tejas" Mk1A aircraft was signed in February 2021, and in September of this year, the Indian Air Force added another 97 aircraft. However, the delivery of the first batch of 83 aircraft has not yet begun.

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