General Electric may deliver F-404 engines by March or April; India invokes penalty clause

Representational image of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas on aircraft carrier INS Vikrant
| Photo Credit: ANI
After several delays, the F-404 jet engines, meant to power the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A, are expected to be delivered by the U.S. engine manufacturer, General Electric (GE), by March or April 2025, according to sources in the know. The contractual obligations in terms of penalty for delayed deliveries have been invoked, sources has said. The deal is between the GE and defence public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). However, sources said there were no politics involved, and termed the delay in deliveries a “pure logistical issue”.In February 2021, the Defence Ministry had signed a ₹48,000-crore deal with HAL for 83 LCA-Mk1A, a more capable fighter than the current LCA-MK1 in service. Following this, in August 2021, HAL signed…