The government of India on Tuesday inked the biggest ever 'Make in India' defence deal to procure 83 Tejas worth Rs 48,000 crores in the indigenous military aviation sector at the inaugural ceremony of Aero India-2021.
The Aero India-2021 which is India's premier defence and aerospace show was inaugurated in Bengaluru in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Manufactured by government-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), Tejas is a single-engine and highly agile multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft which is capable of operating in high -threat air environments.
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The procurement of the 73 Tejas Mk-IA variant and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-I trainer aircraft from the HAL was approved last month by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"I am very happy that HAL has got orders for the development of 83 new indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) – Tejas MK1A from Indian Air Force valued at more than Rs. 48000 Crores, it is probably the biggest 'Make in India' Defence contract till date," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
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The MarkA1 version is going to have 43 improvements which will include the enhancement of operational capability, as compared with the initial ones.
The deal is an addition to an earlier deal for buying 40 of the combat aircraft and the locally-made jets that are expected to join the fleet of the Indian Air Force in the upcoming 6-7 years.
