Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Chairman and Managing Director D K Sunil said military supplies from Israel may face delays due to the ongoing conflict with Iran, but India has sufficient stocks for the current year. He expressed hope that supplies will resume normally once the war ends.
D K Sunil told The Indian Express on Thursday, on the sidelines of a media interaction, that Israeli plants have shut down due to Iranian bombardment, causing delays. "We have enough stocks for the current year; I hope that it will catch up once this war peters out," he said.
Over the past decade, India has bought missiles, UAVs, sensors, radars and air defence systems from Israel. For HAL's Tejas fighter jet, radars, electronic warfare suites and helmet-mounted displays come from there. Sunil said HAL withdrew its personnel and is now waiting and watching.
Drawing lessons from the Iran conflict, HAL is prioritising the CATS Warrior, a low-observable unmanned combat aerial vehicle. It is a self-funded project with a 3-tonne prototype under manufacture. "We are not going into small SHAHED-like drones, as there are already many players in that market," Sunil said.
On Tejas Mk 1A, five jets are ready with engines and the sixth engine is en route. GE Aerospace assured delivery of 20 engines between June and December. A major review with the Indian Air Force is expected next month. Existing LCA Tejas squadrons will resume flying next week after fixing a braking software flaw.
