The new plant for the MK-1As will enable HAL to advance the deliveries of the 83 such fighters ordered by IAF for Rs 48,000 crore in February 2021 by at least a year, HAL chief CB Ananthakrishnan said.

HAL has a capacity to build 16 Tejas MK-1As every year in Bangalore, and the Nashik line will help the firm ramp up production to a total of 24 jets.

The first MK-1A will be delivered to IAF in February 2024, and the last of the 83 jets by 2028 (instead of 2029, the contracted delivery schedule), Ananthakrishnan said. Timely delivery is a top priority for IAF, which is grappling with a shortage of fighter squadrons.

The aircraft manufacturing division at Nashik, set up in 1964, has produced MiG variants and Su-30s under licence. The new MK-1A production line is being set up fast to begin deliveries from Nashik.

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