The largest indigenous defence procurement deal is a game-changer for self-reliance in the Indian defence manufacturing sector, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the purchase of 83 Tejas LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) Mk-1A aircraft for Indian Air Force. The jets to be ordered include 73 are LCA Tejas MK-1A fighter aircraft and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 trainer aircraft at the cost of Rs 45,696 crore, along with design and development of infrastructure sanctions worth Rs 1,202 crore, the defence ministry said in a statement. The aircraft will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, "The LCA-Tejas is going to be the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet in years to come. LCA-Tejas incorporates a large number of new technologies many of which were never attempted in India. The indigenous content of LCA-Tejas is 50% in Mk1A variant which will be enhanced to 60%." In addition to the 40 LCAs already ordered by IAF, 83 LCAs aircraft will take number to 123. The LCA Mk-1A will be improvised making it the most advanced variant of Tejas so far.
"The LCA Mk-1A variant is an indigenously designed,developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern 4+ generation fighter aircraft. This aircraft is equipped with critical operational capabilities of AESA radar, BVR missiles, electronic warfare (EW) Suite and air-to-air refuelling and it would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the IAF," the defence ministry said in a statement.
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