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.
India's first light combat aircraft is the effort of 40 laboratories, 25 academic institutions and 300 companies.
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.
Flown by Group Captain A P Singh, the aircraft covered an altitude upto 11 km and supersonic speed of Mach 1.1, DRDO said in its release.
Officially named Tejas, the aircraft has undergone over 1,000 hours of test flights.
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.
India's indigenous fighter jet programme reached a key milestone on Friday, October 17, 2025, as the Tejas Mk1A made its maiden flight at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's Nashik facility.
According to an international media report, the jet crashed in the afternoon local time while flying a demonstration flight at the prestigious air show.
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.
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.
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.
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 defence ministry said 98 per cent of the total procurement worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore will be sourced from the domestic industries.
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.
This was the first time two chiefs of the armed forces undertook a flight together.
'The aircraft is expected to be ready for rollout between January and March 2026, and to fly by the end of the year.'
HAL has assured the IAF that 12 Mk1A aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2025-2026.
The wife and daughter of Wing Commander Namansh Syal, who died in the Tejas crash at the Dubai Air Show, bid him a tearful farewell as he was cremated in his native village.
The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved procurement of long range rockets, missiles, radar systems and military platforms worth Rs 79,000 crore to bolster the military's combat prowess.
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.
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.
HAL aims to raise output from the current ceiling of 24 aircraft a year to 30 by the end of 2027
The DRDO conducted the test in collaboration with the Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
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 participation of the three vice chiefs in the Tarang Shakti exercise demonstrated the growing focus on cross-domain cooperation, with land, sea, and air forces working together to face modern challenges, an official 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.
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.
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.
On Saturday, July 1, 2023, the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas will complete seven years of service in the Indian Air Force.
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 Mark-1A will be more sophisticated and capable than the Tejas Mark-1.
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 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".
The test flight lasted 24 minutes.
The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, which has remained grounded for more than three months, finally resumed flight-testing last week.
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.
Private and public defence players can bid to participate in the stealth fighter development programme independently, as a joint venture, or as consortia.
Ajai Shukla spends a day with Tejas test pilots to find out what drives them.
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.
Announcing the launch of "Mission Sudarshan Chakra", Modi said it will be aimed at neutralising enemy threat and enhancing India's offensive capabilities.
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