Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a sortie on Tejas aircraft in Bengaluru, Karnataka.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a sortie on Tejas aircraft at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) site in Karnataka's Bengaluru.
Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential,” Modi wrote on X while sharing some pictures.
The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the IAF in 2016. Currently, two squadrons of IAF, 45 Squadron and 18 Squadron, are fully operational with LCA Tejas, the sources added.
Under the Modi government, an order worth ₹36,468 crore for delivery of 83 LCA Mk 1A aircraft has been placed with HAL and delivery is scheduled to begin by February 2024,” they said.
More than ₹9,000 crore have been sanctioned for the development of LCA Mk 2, an updated and more lethal version of LCA Tejas, the sources said. "To further promote indigenisation, including of the aircraft engine, Transfer of Technology for manufacturing of the GE engine in India has been negotiated with GE during Prime Minister’s visit to the US in June 2023, they said.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh had noted in April that India’s defence exports have reached an all-time high of ₹15,920 crore in FY 2022-2023. It is a remarkable
In October, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said the Indian Air Force was in the process of finalising a ₹1.15 lakh crore deal to procure an additional batch of 97 Tejas Mark-1A aircraft besides upgrading 84 Sukhoi-30MKI jets at a cost of ₹60,000 crore.
In February 2021, the defence ministry sealed a ₹48,000-crore deal with state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for the procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF.
With the additional 97 Tejas Mark-1A jets, the total number of indigenously-developed aircraft being procured by the IAF would go up to 180.
The Chief of Air Staff also said that 84Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets will be upgraded at a cost of a little over ₹60,000 crore.
The defence ministry is also looking at signing a contract with the HAL next year to procure a total of 156 light combat helicopters (LCH) out of which 66 will be for the IAF.
The IAF now operates 10 light combat helicopters.
"We had signed the contract for 83 LCA-Mark 1As. What we are looking at is now to supplement that contract with 97 additional aircraft.
"So it will bring the total to about 180 LCA-Mark-1As. The contract value will be a little over 1.15 lakh crores," Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari said.
Asked about the timeline for delivery of the LCA Mark-1As as HAL can produce only 15 of them annually, he indicated that the aerospace major may increase the pace of production in partnership with the private sector.
The Chief of Air Staff said the number of LCA-Mark-1A jets being procured is not linked to future procurement of Tejas Mark-2 Light Combat Aircraft.
The highly anticipated Tejas Mark2 aircraft is expected to be ready for the first flight by 2025.
What is Tejas aircraft?
Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments. It has been designed to undertake the air defence, maritime reconnaissance and strike roles.
