GE F404-GE-IN20 Engine (for the LCA Tejas Mk1A) · GE F404-GE-IN20 engine — propulsion for HAL LCA Tejas Mk1A

The GE F404-GE-IN20 is the afterburning turbofan engine that powers Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's (HAL) LCA Tejas family of fighters — including the current Mk1A production standard that the Indian Air Force is inducting in numbers. The F404 family is an American engine from GE Aerospace (General Electric), and the IN20 variant was adapted for the Tejas application. Because India's own fighter engine — the GTRE Kaveri — never reached service readiness (a long-running DRDO/GTRE project that stalled), the Tejas line depends on the imported F404. More recently, aircraft were moved to the more powerful F404-GE-IN20/F414 family as the light fighter grew. For the Mk1A specifically, the F404-GE-IN20 (and the pathway to the larger F414 for the Mk2/AMCA) is the sole propulsion source — a structural import dependence. This matters strategically because every Tejas Mk1A delivered carries a US engine, tying the IAF's most important indigenous fighter programme to a single foreign vendor for its heart. The dependence is mitigated only by the fact that GE Aerospace is an allied supplier (US-India defence ties have deepened), but it remains a critical technology gap: India cannot yet build its own fighter engine, and the long-delayed GTRE Kaveri project is still not ready, with newer engine programmes (including a possible partnership) only at early stages.