HAL Missed Stealth Jet Bid on Routine Technical Grounds: Defence Secretary

Defence Secretary R K Singh has said that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's failure to qualify for the programme to build India's stealth fighter was a matter of routine technical grounds. He was speaking at a defence summit.

Singh's remarks address the exclusion of the state-owned aerospace major from the contest to develop the country's next-generation stealth combat aircraft.

Earlier, in February 2026, Defence Ministry sources had said that only three of the seven consortia which had expressed interest in the programme met the mandatory technical and financial criteria. HAL, which had bid in partnership with two smaller firms, was not among those that qualified.

The programme is intended to deliver an advanced stealth fighter for the Indian Air Force, and the selection process has drawn attention given HAL's position as the country's principal military aircraft manufacturer.

The Defence Secretary characterised the outcome of the qualification stage as an ordinary procedural result rather than a reflection on the bidder.