Up until recently, she was flying the MiG-21s and was recently posted to the LCA squadron deployed in Naliya air base in the Gujarat sector along the border with Pakistan.
According to HAL, "this is the biggest ever order that HAL has placed on any Indian company boosting 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' campaign."
"The LCA Tejas was deployed by the Indian Air Force on the western front close to the Pakistan border to take care of any possible action by the adversary there," government sources told ANI.
The Indian Air Force keeps moving its aircraft in both the Union Territories in the Northern sector including Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to give them the experience of flying there in their unique terrain.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Wednesday handed over the first LCA Tejas twin-seater aircraft to the Indian Air Force.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is establishing a maintenance facility for GE Aerospace's F404-IN20 jet engines, which power the Tejas light combat aircraft, with technical support from GE Aerospace. This initiative aims to enhance India's indigenous defence capabilities and reduce reliance on overseas repair centres.
This is the fourth peacetime crash of an IAF jet in 2025 so far.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) expressed deep sorrow over the death of an Indian Air Force pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal, in a Tejas aircraft crash during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show. The incident involved the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and marked the second crash involving a HAL-manufactured aircraft in 20 months.
According to an international media report, the jet crashed in the afternoon local time while flying a demonstration flight at the prestigious air show.
Namansh is survived by his father, mother, wife, who is also serving in the Air Force, and their six-year-old daughter.
The No 18 Squadron, formed in 1965 with the motto "Teevra aur Nirbhaya" meaning "Swift and Fearless," was earlier flying MiG 27 aircraft.
Air Chief Marshal A P Singh and Chief of the Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Sunday set the tone for the grand Aero India-2025 by flying in the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas in Bengaluru at Yelahanka based Air Force Station.
The project was linked with the larger interest of the national security, he said.
HAL executives said deliveries of the Tejas Mk1A to the IAF would begin within this year, but only after the successful completion of the weapons-firing trials currently underway.
The indigenously designed and developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv) and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will not be part of the upcoming Republic Day flypast in India due to the grounding of the entire fleet of ALH-Dhruv helicopters following a crash earlier this month. The grounding of the helicopters is a result of a Coast Guard ALH crash in Porbandar, Gujarat on January 5, which claimed the lives of two pilots and an aircrew diver. The decision to exclude the ALH-Dhruv and Tejas from the flypast comes as a high-level probe panel investigates the cause of the crash.
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.
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Thursday took a sortie in Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, on the second day of the ongoing Aero India-2021 in Bengaluru.
The Indian Navy has ruled out deploying indigenously built light combat aircraft Tejas on its aircraft carriers, saying it is "not being able to meet the requirements".
HAL's order book amounts to Rs 2.45 trillion by end of Q2FY26, implying a book-to-bill ratio of 32 times based on FY25 revenue.
"The HAMMER missiles are in the process of being integrated with the LCA Tejas and it will significantly enhance its capability to take out hardened targets from stand-off distances," government sources told ANI.
HAL aims to raise output from the current ceiling of 24 aircraft a year to 30 by the end of 2027
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has recently approved procurement proposals worth Rs 79,000 crore across three services and it has cleared AoN (Acceptance of Necessity) of Rs 3.3 trillion in financial year 2026 (FY26).
Indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft 'Tejas' will be inducted into the Indian Air Force this year, Defence Research and Development Organisation chief V K Saraswat has said.
The deal is expected to help HAL to get its complete requirement of 212 GE-404 engines in continuity, avoiding any types of delays in engine supplies.
The decision to procure the fleet was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
On Wednesday, August 23, 2023, Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft LSP-7, successfully fired the ASTRA indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile off the coast of Goa.
Facing flak for time slippages in Light Combat Aircraft Tejas programme, DRDO chief V K Saraswat on Friday attributed the delay to "setbacks" caused by international sanctions and inadequate development of aerospace industry in the country.
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 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.
According to Madhavan, the delivery of the Tejas LCA to the IAF under the Rs 48,000-crore deal will begin from March 2024 and around 16 aircraft will be rolled out annually till the completion of the total supply of 83 jets.
News reports that GE Aerospace has delivered the first of 99 F404-IN20 engines ordered by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) for the Tejas Mk-1A has revived interest in the HAL stock.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has approved the "execution model" for the indigenous development of a fifth-generation deep penetration advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA) for the Indian Air Force. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) will execute the programme through industry partnership, with equal opportunities for both private and public sectors. The project is a major step towards "Aatmanirbharta" (self-reliance) in the aerospace sector and is expected to cost around Rs 15,000 crore.
'The heat shield technology for re-entry vehicles was first mastered in DRDO for the Agni missile.' 'This is why the Americans were so opposed to Agni in the 1980s, unlike other missiles -- it was a re-entry vehicle.'
"The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential," he said.
'The aircraft is expected to be ready for rollout between January and March 2026, and to fly by the end of the year.'
Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt in a written response to a query in Rajya Sabha on Monday said that "as on date, the DRDO is working on 55 mission mode projects out of which 23 projects are delayed".
In a key step towards attaining final operational clearance from the Indian Air Force, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is undergoing weapons trials, including firing air-to-air missiles to test its capability to bring down enemy planes.
The Mark-1A will be more sophisticated and capable than the Tejas Mark-1.
The DRDO conducted the test in collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
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