India's latest fighter jet, LCA Mk-1A, to be inducted in 1-2 months after technical issues resolved: IAF vice chief

Technical issues delaying the delivery of India’s latest fighter, the light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A), are expected to be resolved within two months, clearing the way for its induction into the Indian Air Force, IAF vice chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit said on Tuesday.

Two or three technical issues must be resolved before the fighter can enter service, he said.

“HAL has clarified, and I would like to add, that in the beginning, the delay was from the engine side. We did not get enough engines. Now we have got engines, we have installed them on the aircraft, and we are doing proper and thorough testing before the aircraft is inducted. Two or three points are left to be proven, and I think in a month or two, we should be able to overcome that technical issue, and thereafter, the road is clear for the aircraft to be inducted,” Dixit said.

Dixit’s remarks came in response to a question during a briefing on Tarang Shakti, the IAF’s largest multilateral air combat exercise to be held in Jodhpur from September 26 to October 12.

The IAF is eagerly waiting for the induction of LCA Mk-1A, he said.

He will be the senior-most officer when IAF chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh retires on October 31, making him the frontrunner for the top post.

“There are some issues involving radar, and maybe some integration. The issues are on the verge of resolution,” Dixit said, in a rare confirmation from the IAF that the fighter is almost ready for induction. The vice chief’s comments came days after HAL chairman Ravi K said the aerospace major will begin delivering the LCA Mk-1A to the IAF by the end of this year after resolving the final radar and weapons-integration issues.

The LCA Mk-1A is central to the IAF’s push to shore up its fighter fleet, which faces a worrying shortfall. The IAF has placed two orders for 180 Mk-1A fighter jets worth a combined ₹1.1 lakh crore. The first contract for 83 aircraft was signed in February 2021, followed by a second for 97 fighters in September 2025. The deliveries, which are likely to begin in December, are under the first contract.

The first Mk-1A aircraft, ordered in 2021, was due for delivery in March 2024. That deadline was missed due to a combination of factors, including US firm GE Aerospace’s inability to supply the F404-IN20 engines on time and delays in securing key certifications.

Tarang Shakti 2026

Dixit said invitations were sent out to 65 countries to participate in the second edition of the exercise — eight have confirmed participation with their air assets and 32 countries are coming as observers.

The foreign aircraft taking part in the air combat drills include F-35s, F-16s, Rafales, A400Ms, A330 MRTT (multi role tanker transport) KC-135s, C-130s, and other specialised platforms. These will operate alongside the IAF’s Sukhoi-30s, Rafales. Jaguars, Mirage-2000s, MiG-29s, LCA Mk-1s, Mi-35s, Mi-17s and IL-78 refuellers. This is the first time the F-35 fifth-generation fighters are taking part in an exercise in the country — the US is bringing six such stealth aircraft to Jodhpur.

“Tarang Shakti is not just an aircraft exercise. It is about what happens when these aircraft operate together. The world around us is changing rapidly, and so is the spectrum of warfare. Recent conflicts have demonstrated the importance of precision, speed, integrated air defence, unmanned systems in warfare, information dominance, space-enabled capabilities, and the ability to bring all this together in a multi-domain operation,” the IAF vice chief pointed out.

The distinction between conventional and emerging forms of warfare is becoming increasingly blurred, he said.

“Operation Sindoor has reinforced many of these realities for us. It demonstrated the importance of intelligence-led operations, precision, integrated air and missile defence, counter-UAS capability, electronic warfare and jointness across domains...We do not conduct Tarang Shakti to demonstrate what we already know. We conduct it to discover what we still need to learn. Our operational experience, including Operation Sindoor, gives us lessons. Our partners bring their own operational experience. Bringing these together in a realistic training environment allows us to test assumptions, challenge procedures, understand different methods of employing air power and improve interoperability. That is the real purpose of this exercise,” Dixit added.

The exercise will feature visual-range and beyond-visual-range combat missions, force engagements involving high-value aerial assets, air mobility operations and dynamic targeting, air-to-air refuelling, and combat search and rescue missions, said Group Captain Arun Deswal, a fighter pilot involved in coordinating Tarang Shakti.