We're just not confident of HAL: Air chief's lament

The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, has questioned the ability of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to meet the air force's critical requirements in the backdrop of a lingering delay in the supply of new fighter jets, saying he has "no confidence" in the state-run plane maker, shows a video of a conversation between Singh and HAL officials during an event at Aero India 2025.

- Rahul Singh

"I can only tell you our requirements and what our worries are. You have to alleviate those worries and make us more confident. At the moment, I am just not confident of HAL, which is a very wrong thing to happen. Everything is [driven by] 'ho jayega' (will happen) and 'karenge' (we will do it)!" Singh is heard saying in the clip shot on Monday and posted by on YouTube.

Singh said he would be the "happiest person" to be proved wrong.

The IAF chief was talking to a group of HAL officials while sitting in the cockpit of the locally produced Hindustan Jet Trainer (HJT-36), whose name has been changed from Sitara to Yashas following extensive modifications that fixed lingering problems.

The development was first reported on Tuesday by defence news website Livefist.

IAF and the defence ministry did not comment on the air chief's rare assessment.

The air force is deeply concerned about the current pace of the light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A) programme because of the possible risks a delay in the induction of new fighter planes could pose to the air force's combat effectiveness.

The air force ordered 83 Mk-1A fighters for Rs 48,000 crore in February 2021 and plans to buy 97 more Mk-1As at a cost of around Rs 67,000 crore.

The first aircraft was to be delivered to IAF by March 31, 2024, but that didn't happen due to a combination of factors including US firm GE Aerospace's inability to supply the F404 engines on time and delays in some key certifications.