Govt approves ₹62,000 crore deal for 97 Tejas Mk1A jets

To enhance the capability of the Indian Air Force, the Central Government has approved the procurement of 97 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark 1A jet aircraft. This will strengthen Make in India along with Atmanirbhar Bharat.

• The Government of India has approved a ₹62,000 crore deal for the purchase of 97 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mark 1A jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• This decision, taken in a high-level meeting on 19 August 2025, paves the way for large-scale production for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), further strengthening India’s indigenous aerospace capabilities.
• This is the second major order for the Mark 1A version, the previous order being for 83 aircraft worth ₹48,000 crore. The new fleet will replace the ageing MiG-21 aircraft, which are soon to be retired, and will eventually form the backbone of India’s fighter squadrons.

Other deals

• Recently, the Defence Acquisition Council approved proposals for the procurement of 156 LCH Prachand helicopters and the upgradation of 84 Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft. The total value of these projects is ₹1.6 lakh crore.
• HAL is also set to secure deals for more than 200 LCA Mark 2 and an equal number of fifth-generation LCA Mark 2 aircraft.

Naval version of Tejas

• The indigenous Mk1 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) naval version landed for the first time on aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
• With this, India joined the select group of countries – USA, UK, Russia, France and China – that have developed aircraft capable of taking off and landing from the limited deck space of an aircraft carrier, which is just 200 meters long.

Light Combat Aircraft Tejas

• The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program was initiated by the Government of India in 1984, when it set up the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to manage the program.
• LCA Tejas was designed and developed by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It is the second supersonic fighter aircraft developed by HAL (the first being the HAL HF-24 Marut).
• Tejas has a maximum payload capacity of 4000 kg. It is a single-pilot, single-engine aircraft, with a maximum take-off weight of 13,300 kg. It can achieve a maximum speed of Mach 1.8. Its normal range is 850 km and combat range is 500 km.

Naming

• In 2003, then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee named the Light Combat Aircraft program ‘Tejas’ (meaning brilliance in Sanskrit).

Indigenous LCA Tejas Mk2

• It is a fighter aircraft developed in India, capable of integrating all indigenous weapons as well as advanced weapons of other countries, along with carrying eight Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) missiles simultaneously.
• LCA Mk2 is an advanced version of LCA Tejas Mk1, with improvements in range and mission power. The combat mission endurance of LCA Tejas Mk1 was 57 minutes, while that of LCA Tejas Mk2 is 120 minutes.