HAL Tejas

India's home-built fighter, four decades in the making — the Tejas (Sanskrit for "radiance") is a light, agile single-engine delta jet that finally gave India an indigenous combat aircraft after one of the longest fighter-development sagas in aviation history. The Mk1A version adds an AESA radar and beyond-visual-range missiles, and the larger, more powerful Mk2 is in development. More than a warplane, the Tejas is the flagship of India's drive for defence self-reliance — and, increasingly, a candidate for export.

Overview

The Tejas (designated LCA, Light Combat Aircraft) is a single-engine, tailless delta-wing multirole fighter developed by India's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It is a light, relatively inexpensive fourth-generation (Mk1A: 4.5-generation) jet — powered by a single GE F404 turbofan, reaching about Mach 1.6 — designed to give the Indian Air Force a domestically-produced fighter to replace ageing MiG-21s. After a famously protracted development, it entered service in 2016, and the improved Mk1A (with an AESA radar, electronic-warfare suite, beyond-visual-range missiles and aerial refuelling) is now in production, with the larger, F414-powered Mk2 under development. The Tejas is the centrepiece of India's "self-reliance" (Atmanirbhar Bharat) push in defence, intended both to equip the IAF and to compete for export orders.

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