LCA Tejas and its future variants will form mainstay of IAF: Govt

 

 

NEW DELHI,  

THE Indian Air Force is expected to get deliveries of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas MK-1A from February next year, and the new variant of the indigenously-built jet will be capable of firing a plethora of weapons, including beyond visual range missiles, the Ministry of Defence said on Friday. As the jet completes seven years in service in the IAF, the Ministry said the aircraft and its future variants will form the mainstay of the Indian Air Force (IAF). In February 2021, the Ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with State-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF.

 

Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments. Egypt, Argentina, the US, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are among the countries showing keen interest in procuring Tejas aircraft. On Saturday, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will complete seven years of service in the IAF. “The confidence that the IAF reposes in the Tejas is borne by its order for 83 LCA MK-1A,” the Ministry said.

The Ministry said the LCA MK-1A will have “updated avionics as well as an active electronically steered radar, updated electronic warfare suite and a beyond visual range missile capability.”