So far, a total of ?25,000 crore has been invested on the LCA project. Of that, around ?14,000 was for development and rest of the money for making 40 aircraft, says Subramanyam. If we look at 200 aircraft [for the IAF and the Navy], we will be getting business worth ?50,000 crore.
Though the project is now on the right flight path, the going was tough a few years ago.
When we started, 999 out of 1,000 people did not believe us, says Kota, known as the Father of the LCA. Long before the LCA project was even born, he had done his Ph.D thesis on the 'Design of an air superior fighter for India', at IIT Bombay. It was to honour Kota's contribution to the project that his initials 'KH' were inscribed on the aircraft that made the maiden flight.
Kota and his team were very cautious in their approach.
We were willing to accept criticism on account of delays rather than putting the project in danger, says Kota. We conducted many tests, more than what are normally done. The aircraft was ready to fly in 1999, but we took one full year to test and re-test before deciding to fly it in 2001. 
An unassuming person, Kota is now working on the Regional Transport Aircraft (RTA) project.
Bridging the technology gap, too, was a huge challenge. HAL, the only aircraft-maker in the country, had not done much after its Marut programme in the early 60s, and India was two decades behind developments in aviation. In aviation, they say, one needs to keep running to stay where you are. And India was not even walking!
Next was the difference of opinion between the IAF and DRDO.
The IAF was looking for an aircraft which would be on the frontline in 15 years or so, says Rajkumar, while the aeronautical community felt that the technological gap had to be bridged by developing technologies like fly-by-wire, composite structures, and digital avionics. The IAF knew that it would take a long time to do this.
After sitting on the fence all through the 80s, the IAF started supporting the project in the 90s.
The project got a meaningful funding of ?2,188 crore in 1993. Then came the US sanctions after Pokhran nuclear tests in 1998. Many thought it to be the end of the fighter project as the US firms GE and Lockheed Martin, which were helping with engines and avionics, respectively, pulled out overnight.
Says Shyam Chetty, head of flight mechanics and control division: When sanctions were imposed, we were in the US working with Lockheed Martin. They immediately asked us to leave the country and did not even allow us to enter their campus to collect our equipment and papers. It took many years to get them back. Meanwhile, we had to start from scratch to develop flight control law (FCL), which was a very important part of the project. That was a big challenge.''
To tackle the crisis, then DRDO head A.P.J. Abdul Kalam formed national teams to develop the crucial technologies within India. We took it as a challenge and worked day and night, says Kota. We developed all the required systems before the sanctions were lifted.
The teams conquered complex technologies like composite materials, digital fly-by-wire system and glass cockpit and established various testing facilities.
Says National Aerospace Laboratory Director A.R. Upadhyay: In my 18 years of association with the LCA project, I have become a better aerospace professional.
Technologies like FCL and carbon fibre composites developed at NAL are helping many programmes including our Saras, a 14-seater aircraft, and also the RTA project.
A.K. Sood, RTA project adviser and former chief designer at HAL, has the same opinion.
The technology and expertise we developed for the LCA were used for conducting full aircraft vibration tests on Sukhoi and for vibration tests on external stores on Mirage 2000. That reduced our dependency on the foreign aircraft makers, he says.
But the ambition to develop a complex jet engine and equally difficult Multi-Mode Radar (MMR) led to delays. Even now, Tejas flies with a US-made engine and an Israeli radar.
Says Rajkumar: It was an absurd managerial decision to give the task of developing a jet engine to GTRE [Gas Turbine Research Establishment] and radar development to HAL Hyderabad. They never had any experience of doing such complex work. The only organisation that could have developed the radar was LRDE [Electronics and Radar Development Establishment] and the HAL Engine Division in Bangalore, which had the experience of developing engines. Today, with the benefit of hindsight, we can say the decisions were wrong, though we cannot blame anyone.
The LCA Mark I that is now ready for IOC will fly with GE 404 IN20 engines while
Mark II, the first flight of which is likely to be in December 2014, will fly with the more powerful GE 414 engines. Mark II will have a retractable fuel system and will improve on all deficiencies noticed in the former.
Lack of adequately trained workforce was also a problem.
Says Rajkumar: When the IJT [Intermediate Jet Trainer] project was taken up by HAL, the manpower got split. That had an adverse effect on the progress of the LCA project.
But a transparent working system helped the project. Everyone in the ADA, IAF and airworthiness teams knew what the challenges were.
The system was so transparent that I used to joke that the LCA project was like a cabaret artiste without a G-string. It was totally transparent. There was nothing hidden, says Kota, with a hearty laugh.
Looking back at the long development period, Wing Comander Ajey Lele of Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi, says: It was possible to complete the project a little earlier, but one must understand that developing aircraft is not a simple job. The criticism was very harsh, as if we were manufacturing something like a mobile phone.
Fighter development projects take a lot of time. The development of European fighters took 25 years and the F22 Raptor of the US was a Cold War era project. If it took over two decades for the US to develop the F22, India, too, will take time, Lele says.
