LCH Tejas

LCH Tejas
LCH Tejas The HAL Tejas is an Indian, single engine, delta wing, light multirole fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters but later became part of a general fleet modernisation programme. In 2003, the LCA was officially named Tejas. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.

The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed by HAL after the HAL HF-24 Marut. The Tejas achieved initial operational clearance in 2011 and final operational clearance in 2019. The first Tejas squadron became operational in 2016, as No. 45 Squadron IAF Flying Daggers was the first to have their MiG-21s replaced with the Tejas.

The Tejas currently has three production models – Tejas Mark 1, Mark 1A and trainer variant. The IAF currently placed an order for 40 Tejas Mark 1 and 73 Tejas Mark 1A and 10 trainer aircraft. The IAF plans to procure 324 aircraft in all variants, including the Tejas Mark 2 currently being developed by the HAL. The Tejas Mark 2 is expected to be ready for series production by 2026.

As of 2022 indigenous content in the Tejas Mark 1 is 59.7% by value and 75.5% by number of line replaceable units. As the defense minister announced, the indigenous content of the Tejas Mk 1A is expected to be 50% and rise to 60% by the end of the programme.