Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Tuesday signed a $716 mn deal with GE Aviation of the U.S. for 99 F404 aircraft engines and support services that will power the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-1A.
In February, the Defence Ministry signed a ₹48,000 crore deal with HAL to supply 83 LCA-Mk1A to the Indian Air Force.
“This is largest-ever deal and the purchase order placed by HAL for LCA,” said Mr. R. Madhavan, CMD, HAL. The company was working closely with GE for its support to pursue the export potential of the LCA and also to supply spares to the global supply chain of GE 404 engines, he added.
The 83 MK-1A jets are in addition to the 40 LCA already ordered by the IAF in two batches of 20 each in the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) and the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) configurations.
Interacting virtually, Chris Cyr, Vice President, Business Development and Sales, GE Aviation, said the F404 family of engines had proven itself in operations all over the world. They were “committed to deliver all 99 engines and support services by 2029,” he stated.
Ordering of the engines marked a major milestone in the execution of 83 LCA contract, HAL said in a statement. It noted that the cooperation would be further enhanced with the manufacturing of GE F414 engines in India for the upcoming LCA MkII program. The F404 family engines have logged in more than 14 million engine flight hours, and had powered 15 different production and prototype aircraft, the statement added.
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