August 19, 2014: In yet another slippage, the LCA Tejas is all set to miss its December 2014 deadline for final operational clearance (FOC), and will instead achieve the milestone closer to June next year according to top sources on the programme. Delivery of series production aircraft, to have commenced by December last year, has been pushed from July 2014 to at least October 2014, with HAL struggling to compress delivery schedules. An exasperated Indian Air Force has sent out a strong message that the LCA Mk.1 will see operational service as nothing more than an lead-in trainer, and that ADA needs to focus on delivering the LCA Mk.2, powered by the GE-F414 turbofan engine. Top sources say that test points running into over 1,200 for single engine performance are yet to be notched up by the team at the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) and mandatory for the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification to accord final documents. A handover deadline of June 2015 is likely be set for final delivery of the Mk.1 platform and first lot of squadron-ready aircraft. According to a recent HAL statement, the business partners who work on the Light Combat Aircraft have resolved to ensure the indigenous content of components used in the aircraft touches 80 percent in next three years. DRDO chief Dr. AvinashChander said, "It is possible to achieve such a goal since 165 out of 344 Line Replacement Units (LRUs) are already made in India. The LCA dream has been achieved in-spite of denial of technology. It is clear that we have capability and the government will do everything possible to strengthen the knowledge base. Even funding can be provided and national facilities (such as testing) may be shared with private players to bring down costs to create a vibrant aerospace eco-system."