PM Modi takes sortie on Tejas fighter jet in Bengaluru
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Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a sortie on the Tejas, a small combat fighter aircraft that was built in India, in Bangalore today.
According to sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bengaluru-based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, a defence PSU, on Saturday and reviewed the work that is currently being done at the company's manufacturing facility.
"Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential," Prime Minister Modi posted on X, NDTV reported.
The Prime Minister took a sortie in the Air Force's twin-seat trainer version of the Tejas, a single-seat fighter aircraft. The twin-seater version is also flown by the Indian Navy.
Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is a multi-role fighter aircraft of the 4.5 generation, built to support ground operations in close combat and to take offensive air support.
Tejas is the lightest and smallest aircraft in its class thanks to its tiny size and heavy usage of composite materials. The fighter jet has an excellent safety record, having never experienced an accident.
The Indian Air Force currently has forty Tejas MK-1 aircraft in service, and as part of an agreement valued at ₹ 36,468 crore, the IAF is ordering 83 Tejas MK-1A fighters.
The LCA Tejas participated in the Dubai Air Show earlier this month. As part of the aerial and static exhibition, the LCA Tejas displayed its fighting capability with a series of daring manoeuvres.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactured the LCA, which was initially intended for the Indian Air Force. However, a naval version of the Tejas is undergoing testing in order to perform ground maritime operations. One of the main accomplishments of the HAL is the Tejas's home-built fly-by-wire system.
After the twin-seater was introduced to the Air Force's arsenal in October, India became one of the "very few" elite nations to have developed and deployed such capabilities within their Defence Forces.
Eight of the eighteen twin-seaters that HAL has an order for from the IAF will be delivered between 2023 and 2024. By 2026–2027, the remaining 10 would be gradually supplied.
A historic deal was reached by New Delhi and Washington with HAL and General Electric (GE) to produce the F414 fighter engines that will power the Tejas Mark 2 fighter jets, an advanced and powerful version of the Tejas Mark 1A. This agreement was made during Prime Minister Modi's official visit to the US. The Mark 1 Tejas is powered by the F404 GE engine.
Two LCA Tejas squadrons are in service with the Indian Air Force: No. 45 Squadron, also known as the "Flying Daggers," and No. 18 Squadron, also known as the "Flying Bullets."