The decision to buy 97 additional Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircraft will help strengthen the Indian Air Force (IAF) which is currently dealing with the depletion of fighter squadrons.
The Defence Ministry on Friday issued a tender to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the acquisition of as many as 97 additional Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark-1A fighter jets, senior officials told India Today TV.
The HAL will have three months to respond to the Defence Ministry’s tender, they added.
The tender to buy 97 fighters, which is expected to boost the indigenous aerospace industry, aims to strengthen the Indian Air Force (IAF) which is currently dealing with a shortage of fighter squadrons, a situation that is likely to deepen further after the phaseout of the IAF’s MiG series fighter jets.
Notably, Tejas Mark-1A is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured modern 4-plus generation fighter aircraft with more than 65 per cent indigenous components.
With an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) Missile, modern Electronic Warfare Suite (EWS) and Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) capabilities, Tejas MK 1 A is expected to meet the operational requirements of the IAF both in the eastern and western sectors.
Earlier in 2021, the IAF also contracted with HAL for the delivery of 73 LCA Tejas Mark-1A fighter aircraft and 10 LCA Tejas Mark-1 aircraft.
Article source: indiatoday.in
