The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday approved the purchase of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA-Tejas) in a deal worth ₹48,000 crores from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). This is believed to be the largest ever contract awarded to India’s domestic military aviation industry.
The approval by the CCS, which is headed by PM Narendra Modi, comes ten months after the Defence Acquisition Council in March 2020 okayed the procurement of 83 of the more advanced Mark 1A version of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
Under the terms of the deal, HAL is to deliver 73 Tejas Mk-1A fighters and 10 Tejas Mk-1 trainers by 2026. The LCA-Tejas Mark 1A will have more than 40 “improvements” over an initial order of 40 LCA Tejas aircraft worth almost ₹9,000 crore already ordered in 2016 by the IAF. It is categorized as a fourth generation plus aircraft, a statement from the Indian defence ministry said.
“About 500 Indian companies including MSMEs in the design and manufacturing sectors will be working with HAL in this procurement. The programme would act as a catalyst for transforming the Indian aerospace manufacturing ecosystem into a vibrant Atmanirbhar-self-sustaining ecosystem,” the statement said.
“The Cabinet has also approved infrastructure development by IAF under the project to enable them handle repairs or servicing at their base depot so that the turnaround time would get reduced for mission critical systems and would lead to increased availability of aircraft for operational exploitation. This would enable IAF to sustain the fleet more efficiently and effectively due to availability of repair infrastructure at respective bases,” the defence ministry statement added.
Currently, there are two Tejas squadrons in the IAF, the “Flying Daggers” and the “Flying Bullets” at Sulur. As opposed to a sanctioned number of 42 squadrons required to fight a two-front war with China and Pakistan, the IAF has only 30 squadrons. The Tejas aircraft are expected to boost these numbers. The IAF is also looking to order 170 more Tejas Mark-2 aircraft with more powerful engines and improved avionics in the future.
Hailing the move as a “gamechanger” for Indian defence manufacturing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted that “LCA-Tejas is going to be the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet in years to come”.
The LCA-Tejas programme would act as a catalyst for transforming the indian aerospace manufacturing ecosystem into a vibrant Atmanirbhar-self-sustaining ecosystem. I thank the Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi for this historic decision taken by the CCS today.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 13, 2021
The LCA-Tejas is going to be the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet in years to come. LCA-Tejas incorporates a large number of new technologies many of which were never attempted in India. The indigenous content of LCA-Tejas is 50% in Mk1A variant which will be enhanced to 60%.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 13, 2021
“HAL has already set-up second line manufacturing facilities at its Nasik and Bengaluru Divisions. Equipped with the augmented infrastructure the HAL will steer LCA-Mk1A production for timely deliveries to the IAF,” the Defence Minister added.
The HAL has already set-up second line manufacturing facilities at its Nasik and Bengaluru Divisions. Equipped with the augmented infrastructure the HAL will steer LCA-Mk1A production for timely deliveries to the IAF.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 13, 2021
India was the world’s second largest importer of major arms in 2014–18, accounting for 9.2% of the global total, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in a report published in 2019.
The improvements incorporated in the LCA Mk 1A include easier maintenance, active electronically scanned array radar, electronic warfare suite and beyond-visual range missile capabilities including the Indian made air-to-air missile Aastra Mark1.