Indian Navy rejects homemade warplane

India's Navy is in the hunt for a new foreign fighter jet after rejecting an indigenously made aircraft as too heavy, the latest sign of the struggle to get Asian militaries to buy locally to grow their defense industries.

The navy last month invited manufacturers to pitch for 57 planes for its aircraft carriers, a multi-billion dollar order the government had hoped would go to the state-run producers of India's Tejas, a combat aircraft 33 years in the making.

India, South Korea and other Asian buyers are expected to intensify efforts this year to develop indigenous warplanes, military officials said, due to anxieties that the United States may be less engaged in the region.

But their hopes of manufacturing state-of-the-art warplanes could still be decades away as countries need more time to master the technology, experts said.

As part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make-in-India" campaign, scientists will showcase the Tejas warplane at an air show opening in Bengaluru on Tuesday. But the jet remains a work in progress, with only three in service with the air force.

Cleared by the government in 1983, the Indian plane was meant to be the backbone of the air force due for induction in 1994. Instead, it suffered years of delay with scientists trying to build the world's most modern light combat aircraft from scratch, including the engine.

In December, the navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba, said the sea version of the plane was "not up to the mark" and it could not take off from an aircraft carrier once weapons were loaded.

Failed flight tests

A source in the navy said that the plane for years has failed flight tests when taking off from a 200-meter carrier deck with weapons on board. That prompted the navy to issue a request last month for information for a foreign fighter to fill the gap.

Boeing Co has pitched its F-A/18 Hornet to the Indian defense ministry, including an offer to build it locally. Sweden's Saab AB said on Friday it will offer the naval version of its Gripen fighter.

India's top defense scientists said they were disappointed by the navy's decision and that fighter aircraft development was a challenge everywhere, including with the US Joint Strike Fighter, the F-35.

"Look at the F-35, with all the might of the multinational effort, is still evolving," said a source in the aeronautical development agency which is spearheading the LCA effort.

"There are no shortcuts."