The Indian Air Force (IAF) will place an order for around 100 additional Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), senior defense officials told India Today.
The decision to buy 100 more Tejas Mark-1A fighters to replace the aging fleet of MiG-21 fighter aircraft is expected to boost the domestic aerospace industry.
Officials also added that proposals for the projects have been submitted to the Ministry of Defense and clearance for orders is expected in the near future.
300 Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets are going to be inducted into the Indian Air Force in the next few years.
Tejas Mark-1A is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured modern 4-plus generation fighter with more than 65 percent indigenous components.
With indigenously developed Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles, advanced Electronic Warfare (EW) suite and Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR) capability, the Tejas is expected to meet the operational requirements of Mk 1 Requirements of IAF
Recently, IAF Chief VR Chowdhury also reviewed the development project of Tejas Mark-1A with all stakeholders and brought up that the aircraft is the flag bearer of IAF’s efforts towards indigenization of its air fleet.
Earlier in 2021, the IAF had contracted with HAL to supply 73 LCA Tejas Mark-1A fighters and 10 LCA Tejas Mark-1 aircraft.
