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Tejas : Story of a pie in the sky.

Tejas : Story of a pie in the sky.

By: Ajay Sharma

Date: 12/21/2015

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Starting in 1983, the Tejas fighter aircraft was touted as the marvel of Indian technology which would make an entire nation of a billion people proud, the dream however is yet to materialize. After having spent tens of thousands of crore rupees and almost three decades of development, the program has not brought pride but a national shame for India, all the while India’s enemies like Pakistan and China are building and exporting their own fighter aircrafts.


In a recent report, it was stated that the aircraft now has some 53 technical flaws which have a crippling effect on its operational performance, there are serious problems with its radar and electronic warfare suites, the training variant is unavailable which makes training Tejas pilots an uphill task. Not only that the reports suggest that the Indian content in Tejas is just 35% while the rest is imported from states like the United States, Israel, France and Britain.


The story of failure doesn’t end here, after back to back delays; the aircraft is now incapable of housing a critical self protection system which will protect the pilot from enemy aircraft. The Indian Air Force has all but lost interest in Tejas as it was an aircraft of yesterday which is being pushed down its throat by an ultra nationalist Modi govt which lacks any strategic vision for India’s security interests.

Its high time, the Indian govt decides to scrap this white elephant and direct funds to imported solutions like SAAB Gripen and other western fighter aircrafts to meet the ever rising threat from India’s enemies like Pakistan and China. The Tejas program is meant to do nothing more than satisfying the ego stock of the Modi govt which is bent on projecting India as a technological superpower while ignoring the genuine capability constraints faced by Indian aviation industry.


This mindset has also been exacerbated by Indian Air Force’s JF-17 Thunder envy, a successful program across the border pulled off jointly by Pakistan and China. It seems as if Tejas is the only answer to ‘keeping up with the John’s’ for the Indian politicians and military brass in Delhi. The truth is, Tejas has utterly and truly failed, it’s time to scrap it and focus on real capability development for the Indian airforce.

Source: Defence News, Tejas : Story of a pie in the sky.
Sir, looks like Your post convinced a lot of Pakistanis and Chinese that Tejas is crap
Congratulations :enjoy:
 
My personal opinion, and I will be as kind as possible, is that while the idea of an indigenous combat aviation program is commendable, and that it is difficult to bear the idea that one must import one's means of national defense, there are easier ways, in terms of technology and program management, to start such a program. Collaboration is usually the preferred path.

There is something called 'institutional inertia'. It basically mean that the longer an institution, a project, or a program is allowed to stagnate, resistance to changes increases. When there are a lot of money involved, unscrupulous people, from vendors to government officials, have a lot of vested interests in making sure that inertia remains.

Collaboration does not make the program immune from mismanagement, inefficiency, or corruption, but when there are multiple parties involved, especially when one of them have the necessary expertise, that expertise inevitably demands project/program goals and milestones and that they must be available for all to review.

Sorry, but while the idea is commendable, a single project that so far is 30 yrs in development should be scrapped. There must have been a lot of technological changes in those decades, must have had new program managers and overseers, must have had new government officials that are reasonably attentive and honest. Right ?

Here I must totally disagree. We must take it to its logical end, preserve the knowledge and apply in other projects that should be better managed.
 
How do you know for sure that technological changes were not implemented in Tejas ?
I do not know and do not presume to know. But there comes a point in a design where certain technologies must be 'locked in' and new technologies not allowed to be introduced. An excellent example is the F-16 block program. Once an F-16 is slated to be upgraded to a new block, say 10 for example, it will be locked in. If an F-16 from a different squadron is slated to be upgraded to block 20, it will be locked in. Even if both aircrafts are upgraded in the same yr. This is to control cost, reduce inefficiency and possibilities of corruption.
 
After 20 yrs, the program should be scrapped. Even a failed project can still offers lessons.

That's American way of working, we do not have that luxury..

Even after delays, if we get LCA Mk1A(capable of more or less Gripen C/D) or Mk2 from 2025(capable as Gripen NG) we are happy. We have 200+ jets to replace and do not want to purchase those from outside.
 
I do not know and do not presume to know. But there comes a point in a design where certain technologies must be 'locked in' and new technologies not allowed to be introduced. An excellent example is the F-16 block program. Once an F-16 is slated to be upgraded to a new block, say 10 for example, it will be locked in. If an F-16 from a different squadron is slated to be upgraded to block 20, it will be locked in. Even if both aircrafts are upgraded in the same yr. This is to control cost, reduce inefficiency and possibilities of corruption.


This is actually a huge problem India faces in several of it's programs. The users keep adding, and/or changing the requirements midway, when the prototypes are even testing.
 
I do not know and do not presume to know. But there comes a point in a design where certain technologies must be 'locked in' and new technologies not allowed to be introduced.

If I am right,the varying requirement of IAF had a role to play in the delay.
 
After 20 yrs, the program should be scrapped. Even a failed project can still offers lessons.
But only by 1996, the program actually able to get proper funding. And first flight of Technology Demonstrator, not Prototype, able to fly in 2001.

Prototype not able to fly until 2003.

I dont know how you calculated 30 years.
 

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