Indian Air Force likely to get its first Tejas Mk-1A aircraft in July
HAL plans to deliver 16 fighters to IAF in 2024-25 and has set up a new production line in Nashik for LCA Mk-1A to meet IAF’s growing requirements
NEW DELHI: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is likely to get the delivery of its first Tejas Mk-1A aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in July 2024, officials aware of the matter said on Thursday. The Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) Mk-1A made its maiden sortie from an HAL facility in Bengaluru on March 28.
IAF ordered 83 Mk-1A fighters for ₹48,000 crore in February 2021.
Also, the defence ministry issued a tender to HAL in April for the proposed acquisition of 97 LCA Mk-1As to strengthen IAF’s capabilities at a time it is grappling with a shortage of fighter squadrons. The new fighter planes are expected to cost around ₹67,000 crore
The first Mk-1A aircraft (part of the 2021 order) was to be delivered to IAF by March 31, 2024, but that could not be done as some key certifications were pending.
HAL plans to deliver 16 fighters to IAF in the financial year 2024-25. It has set up a new production line in Nashik for LCA Mk-1A to meet IAF’s growing requirements for fighter jets. It can build 16 LCA Mk-1As every year in Bengaluru, and the Nashik line will help HAL ramp up production to 24 jets. The delivery of the 87 jets is expected to be completed by 2028.
LCA Mk-1A is an advanced variant of the LCA Mk-1, which has already been inducted by IAF. LCA is set to emerge as the cornerstone of IAF’s combat power in the coming decade and beyond.
IAF, the world’s fourth largest air force, is expected to operate around 350 LCAs (Mk-1, Mk-1A and Mk-2 versions), with a third of those already ordered, some inducted, and the rest figuring prominently on the air force’s modernisation roadmap and expected to be contracted in the coming years.
In October 2023, HAL handed over the first trainer version of LCA Mk-1 to IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari in Bengaluru, with the twin seater set to fill a key training role and double as a fighter if needed.
The aircraft was part of an earlier order for 40 Mk-1 jets in the initial operational clearance (IOC) and the more advanced final operational clearance (FOC) configurations -- the first variants of LCA.
