India Receives Second GE‑404 Engine, Boosting Tejas Mk1A Programme

The United States sent India a second GE F404-IN20 engine to power its Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets. The delivery, which happened on July 15, 2025, is a big step forward in India's "Make in India" defense plan to boost production and make the country self-sufficient.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was given the engine. HAL is in charge of putting the engines on the Tejas Mk1A airframe and making sure they are fully assembled. It's part of a deal signed in August 2021 worth about $716 million that includes 99 GE F404-IN20 engines and the tools that support them.

Pattern of delivery and production goals

The delivery date has been changed because of problems in the supply chain, especially with a South Korean parts seller, which caused the engines to be delivered over a year later than planned. India got its first engine in March 2025, and its second one in the middle of July. HAL now thinks that 12 engines will be delivered by the end of the fiscal year 2025–26. General Electric has agreed to send two engines every month until March 2026.

These improvements should speed up HAL's plans to roll out Tejas. Together with private industry partners, the company wants to make 12 Mark 1A planes in 2025, and by 2026–27, they want to make 30 jets every year.

Expansion and Strategy

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered 83 Tejas Mk1A jets so far, and the government is almost done approving a plan for another 97 planes. Once everything is cleared and built, the Tejas family—which includes both the Mark 1A and the heavier Mk2 variant—could deliver more than 400 planes by 2035, with help from GE's engines, HAL's assembly, and private-sector production.

Building engines in the country

India wants to co-produce GE's F414 INS6 engines for the Mk2 through a techno-commercial deal that should be signed by March 2026. At the same time, work is being done to bring back the GTRE Kaveri turbofan program. If these engines do well, it will be a huge step toward making engines in the United States and will help us become less dependent on foreign engines in the long run.

Importance in politics and business

The plans for engine deliveries and co-production show that India and the US are working together more closely on defense. They also show India's two-pronged strategy: quickly buy and build more Tejas jets with engines from other countries, while also laying the groundwork for future planes made in India.