The delivery of the jets are facing delays primarily due to GE Aerospace missing several deadlines for supply of its aero engines to power the jets.
Thirty-two years after the project was sanctioned, the first indigenously-built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft was on Saturday handed over by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar to the Indian Air Force, a red letter day for Indian defence and aerospace sector.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to retire its MiG-21 aircraft in September after over six decades of service. The last of the MiG-21 jets will be given a farewell at a ceremony in Chandigarh.
In the phone conversation on Tuesday, Singh urged Hegseth to expedite the delivery of GE F404 engines to power the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, people familiar with the matter said.
The slippage in the delivery schedule for the LCA Mk-1A variant of the jet had become a major issue with Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A P Singh raising the matter publicly.
The death of a young pilot and three fighter jet crashes prompt the question -- should there be more simulation training?
Glimpses from Day 1 at Aero India 2025 at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, February 10, 2025.
The defence ministry said 98 per cent of the total procurement worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore will be sourced from the domestic industries.
'Today's situation is unacceptable. It has the potential to affect the IAF's operational capability.'
The pilot ejected safely and a court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident, the IAF said in a brief statement.
The Mark-1A will be more sophisticated and capable than the Tejas Mark-1.
HAL's sustained, long-term income will come from the design, development, manufacture, overhaul, and upgrade of a family of helicopters designed for deployment on India's 21,000-foot-high Himalayan frontier with Pakistan and China.
India also went on an overdrive in expanding its military engagement with like-minded countries in its neighbourhood and beyond in the face of China's relentless attempts to become a regional hegemon and establish its primacy in South Asia.
The biennial tri-services exercise, Bright-Star, is taking place at Cairo (West) Air Base and it is being participated by militaries of the US, Saudi Arabia, Greece and Qatar besides of the host country and India, officials said.
In the event of a war with China, AMCA deep strikes would target China's rail and road links with Tibet, isolating PLA divisions there.
On Saturday, the aircraft made its first landing on the deck of INS Vikramaditya which was also a major milestone. Both the landing and take off by the aircraft put India among a select group of nations having the capability to design such a jet which can operate from an aircraft carrier.
The announcement by the IAF to not send its aircraft for the 'Cobra Warrior' exercise came just three days after it confirmed its participation in the drills from March 6 to 27 at Waddington in the United Kingdom.
Observers of India's struggle to design and build defence equipment might wonder why the indigenous missile programme has been so much more successful than many other projects that the Defence Research and Development Organisation has taken up.
Although underpowered for fast-moving fighter aircraft, the Defence Research and Development Organisation believes the Kaveri is well suited for the Unmanned Strike Air Vehicle, reports Ajai Shukla
The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, which has remained grounded for more than three months, finally resumed flight-testing last week.
Ajai Shukla spends a day with Tejas test pilots to find out what drives them.
China's massive military lead over India has never been starker. On Tuesday, amidst fanfare, Defence Minister A K Antony travelled to Bengaluru for a milestone in the development of India's 'Tejas' Light Combat Aircraft, a fourth-generation fighter that is still two years away from full service. The same day, an advanced, fifth-generation stealth fighter -- so far only speculated about, as the J-20 -- made its first flight in China.
Europe has an edge over the US in the tightly-fought contest to sell India a next-generation engine for the homegrown Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA).
Why this indifference towards the Tejas, the alert citizen would ask?
The indigenous Kaveri aircraft engine, soon to make its debut flight, lacks the muscle needed by India's Tejas light combat aircraft, which the engine was designed to power. In its present form, the Kaveri will never power a modern fighter. The Indian Navy is snapping up the Kaveri for powering its growing fleet of warships.
In a last-minute twist, General Electric of the US has bagged the hotly contested $800-million tender to supply 99 engines for India's Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA). After both engines in the contest -- GE's F-414 and Eurojet's EJ-200 -- were found technically suitable, the F-414 has been declared the cheaper option.
According to official figures, 14 squadrons of the MiG 21, MiG 27 and MiG 29 are due for retirement in the next 10 years which will bring down the fighter squadron strength to 19 by 2027 from the current 33.
The test flight lasted 24 minutes.
Group Captain Varun Singh, the lone survivor in the horrifying chopper crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu, was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra in August for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft suffered a major technical glitch last year.
Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria's plan includes building 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft in quick time to fill the light fighter vacancies left by the retirement of MiG-21 and MiG-27 fighters.
Here are glimpses of what to expect at this R-Day parade.
The naval version of Tejas light combat aircraft is in development stage. Officials said the successful "arrested landing" of the prototype of the naval version of Tejas on the deck of INS Vikramaditya is expected to speed up development of the jet for the Indian Navy.
The real value of the Tejas Mark 1 is the role it will now play in the development of India's next generation of fighter aircraft that will be more technologically advanced and lethal.
It is learnt that the Chinese JF-17 was cheaper but could not match the technical parameters of the Tejas Mk-IA variant and the offer of maintenance of the Su-30 fleet as proposed by India.
The 'On-Board Oxygen Generation System' developed for the Tejas can produce 1,000 litres of oxygen every minute.
He was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra in August for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft suffered a major technical glitch last year.
The Southeast Asian nation has been focusing on modernising its military in the face of myriad security challenges as well as decades-long territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.
'Whatever you work towards, be dedicated, do your best. Never go to bed thinking I could have put in more effort'
Group Captain Singh was conferred with the Shaurya Chakra, India's third highest peacetime gallantry award, in August this year for averting a possible mid-air accident after his Tejas light combat aircraft was hit by a major technical problem last year.
On the 20th anniversary of the first flight of the Tejas, we must congratulate the entire team who made sure that the LCA flew and returned safely on January 4, 2001, sowing the seed for development of a state-of-the-art fighter airplane that our country so badly needed, says IAF veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe.
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