While the Defence Acquisition Council had approved the deal for about 39,000 crore in March 2020, the deal value now approved now stands at about at a cost of ₹48,000 crore.
*Indigenous ?*
While stated to be an indigenous program,
Many of the Tejas’ core systems are purchased off the shelf from foreign suppliers including an American F404 engine - the same as that designed to power the F-20 Tigershark light fighter in the 1970s, an Israeli sensor suite and electronics, and Russian air to air missiles.
Gen Rawat said induction of Tejas jets will help India emerge as a key defence exporter.
The Indian Air Force's long-delayed plan to buy over 100 foreign-designed fighters had made little progress in the past over two decades.
The latest iteration of the plan came in April 2018, when the Indian Air Force formally launched a process to buy 114 fighters in a deal estimated to be worth around $15 billion.
The Indian Air Force was also simultaneously negotiating with HAL to buy 83 units of the indigenously designed Tejas fighter at an estimated cost of $6 billion.
The Indian Air Force had already ordered 40 Tejas jets from HAL.
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat indicated that the Indian Air Force was “switching” to the Tejas in place of foreign options. “We would rather take the indigenous fighter, it is good, the induction of additional Tejas fighters will help India emerge as a key exporter of defence equipment, especially in view of its relatively low price".
He also mentioned about the proposed move to buying indigenous fighters as a "shift to start using locally made weaponry and mentioned that "The defence forces will now onwards be ordering more of locally produced goods, and whereas there is a realisation that there may be some quality issues in the beginning, but these will be gradually improved."
Gen Bipin Rawat had stated his priority for indeginious combat equipment. While pushing for Tejas he had also mentioned "Even the artillery guns, air defence systems and radars will all be indigenous systems as well. We are doing well with artillery guns and in air defence systems. We are also looking at ammunition manufacturing in our country in a very big way.”
A possible switch to the Tejas in place of foreign fighters would be considered a major change in priority for the Indian Armed Forces.
It is well known that seven aircraft were in contention for the contract for 114 fighters. These included a customised version of the US-designed F-16 called the F-21 and the French Dassault Rafale.
In 2015, the Narendra Modi government opted for an outright purchase of mere 36 Rafale fighters from France only to meet emergency requirements.
In 2017, though it was reported that the Indian Air Force had complained that the Tejas in its current configuration was "far behind" competitors like the F-16 and the Swedish Gripen. The Indian Air Force had also mentioned about parameters such as issues with aerial endurance and weapons load and higher maintenance costs of the Tejas, however these seem to have been factored.
The 83 Tejas jets the Indian Air Force is buying will be of an improved MK1A configuration, which will have more capable electronics, radar and air-to-air refuelling capability.
In addition, the DRDO is working on an advanced version of the Tejas, which was initially called the Tejas Mk2.
In 2019, the Tejas MK2 project was renamed the Medium Weight Fighter.
The Medium Weight Fighter will have design enhancements, a higher-thrust engine and more weapons carriage capability.
However, the Medium Weight Fighter is expected to fly only by 2025
Image-1 LCA Tejas IAF, Courtesy - IAF_MCC Twitter
Image-2 LCA TEJAS, Courtesy - Twitter
(Major General Dilawar Singh is an ex-Infantry officer, who has served six tenures in Terrorist areas, commanded two Counter-Terrorist Battalions and is the only officer to have received three citations therein; Holds unbroken records for academic and operational excellence as well as long term planning for the Indian Army. He presently heads a global youth initiative and is engaged in developing Patriotism and Nation-building among the youth)
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinion of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Indian Observer Post and Indian Observer Post does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
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By Maj Gen Dilawar Singh - https://bit.ly/39v63o8