HAL has integrated the ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) for the Tejas Mark 1A. The Tejas Mark 1A will carry twin ASRAAM missiles with a range of 60 to 70 kilometres.
The IAF has demanded five new capabilities in the Mark 1A that would give it a clear combat edge over Pakistan's entire fighter fleet, and most of China's as well.
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.
The HAL wants the IAF to buy 80 Tejas Mark I-A to keep the production line occupied from 2020 to 2023-24
The Indian Air Force's Tejas light combat jets are scheduled to return to the skies next week after being grounded for two months due to a software glitch. HAL expects to deliver over 20 Tejas Mark 1A variants by December, but delays persist due to engine supply issues.
HAL is also integrating the Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile onto the Mark 1A. Each Tejas will carry two of these missiles.
With increase in range and payload capability, Madhavan said the new variant will be much superior than Tejas Mark-IA, 73 of which are being procured by the Indian Air Force from the HAL under a Rs 48,000 crore deal that was approved by the government on January 13.
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 Mark-1A will be more sophisticated and capable than the Tejas Mark-1.
HAL has assured the IAF that 12 Mk1A aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2025-2026.
Pakistan is reportedly pursuing Chinese J-35 stealth fighters while China already operates hundreds of J-20 stealth aircraft.
The outgoing Tejas chief said the aircraft will join the IAF fleet by 2021-22.
HAL aims to raise output from the current ceiling of 24 aircraft a year to 30 by the end of 2027
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.
India's defence sector is on the cusp of a 'super cycle' of growth, driven by escalating geopolitical conflicts and a strong policy push towards indigenous manufacturing, with major players like BEL, HAL, and BDL poised for significant order inflows and technological advancements.
The Tejas Mark 1A outperforms the Sino-Pakistan JF-17 Thunder in avionics and weaponry, but the finance ministry's tax burden makes the Indian LCA costlier and hurts it in the export market.
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.
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.
Even as the benchmark and broader indices were down sharply on Monday due to escalating tensions in West Asia, the Nifty Defence index ended the session in the green.
'The air force has treated the Tejas like a step child.' 'The Tejas has grown in capability, but the IAF has preferred foreign fighters like the Rafale.'
The contracts with Israel Aerospace Industries will condemn the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to a marginal presence in the IAF's future fleet.
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.
HAL is working closely with GE to develop the LCA's export potential.
'Today's situation is unacceptable. It has the potential to affect the IAF's operational capability.'
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.
The legendary Russian-origin MiG-21 jets are set to participate for the last time at the annual Air Force Day parade on October 8, with the IAF rolling out the process to phase out the remaining three squadrons of the aircraft.
'The aircraft is expected to be ready for rollout between January and March 2026, and to fly by the end of the year.'
Air Chief Marshal Amar Preet Singh, an accomplished fighter pilot with more than 5,000 hours of flying experience, on Monday assumed charge as new chief of the Indian Air Force, succeeding incumbent Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari.
It earlier took 19 months to build a Tejas, now it takes 11 months, says HAL chief.
'The JF-17 is the aircraft of today and the Tejas is the aircraft of tomorrow.'
The mega procurement proposal will shortly be placed before the Defence Acquisition Council, the defence ministry's top body on procurement, they said.
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.
'Our production capacity ramp-up initiatives are expected to meet the critical requirements of our armed forces.'
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 delivery of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to the Indian Air Force under a 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, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited R Madhavan said on Sunday.
At a press conference ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, he also said that India needs to catch up with China on technology and speed in production of military equipment, holding that "we are way behind" the neighbour. Air Chief Marshal Singh, at the same time, said the Indian military is way ahead in terms of personnel including those operating various machines and platforms. "I am very confident that as far as human angle is concerned, as far as our people behind the machine are concerned, we are way ahead of them," he said.
When the technology gap between China and India will remain large, cost-effective hardware of the kind that proved their worth in Operation Sindoor should be our priority, points out R Jagannathan.
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.
"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.
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.
