After a few days ago the first production-standard aircraft (LA-5033) of the Indian home-built fighter HAL Tejas completed its 18-minute maiden flight a few days ago. the Indian Air Force is now looking to order a further 97 aircraft.
The Indian Ministry of Defense issued a corresponding tender to the manufacturer Hindustan Aeronauticas Limited (HAL, 75 percent state-owned). The company now has three months to respond to the asking price of the equivalent of 7.3 billion euros.
As early as 2021, HAL received an initial contract for 83 Tejas Mk.1A until 2028, which would give the Indian Air Force (IAF) a fleet of 180 Mk.1A – after ten of the early version Mk1. As repeatedly lamented in the Indian parliament, the IAF currently has – despite 272 Su-30MKI and recently procured 36 Rafaleolder Mirage, MiG-29 and Jaguar – the IAF currently has around ten fighter squadrons too few to be able to fulfill its wide range of tasks in view of the rapidly arming China and its “proxy” Pakistan. This shortfall is likely to become even more glaring with the withdrawal of the last MiG-21 Bison squadrons (MiG-23, -25 and -27 are already gone).
In addition, recently Territorial tensions around the unmarked border (Line of Actual Control) with China in Aksai Chin (in the west) and Arunachal Pradesh (in the east) have noticeably increased again. The Chinese jets in Tibet take off with a reduced payload due to the altitude, while the Indian jets (in the eastern sector) are stationed on the southern edge of the mountains in the lowlands.
With 43 improvements over the Mk.1 version, such as an ELTA EL/M-2052 active beam-swiveling AESA radar, the Astra BVR (Beyond Visual Range) missile, a modern Electronic Warfare Kit (EWS) and air-to-air refueling capability, the Tejas MK.1A – slightly smaller in size than the Saab Gripen – is designed to meet the IAF’s operational requirements in both the eastern and western sectors. This will soon be joined by more than 100 other western multi-role combat aircraft, including the Tejas Mk.2 with F414 engine and canards from early 2027 and the 5th generation stealth AMCA from around 2030.
