TSAMTO, April 15th. The Indian Ministry of Defense has handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) tender documentation providing for the purchase of 97 additional light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk-1A in the amount of 670 billion. rupees (about $8 billion).
According to the source Janes.com The document issued in March 2024 by the Indian government is a "request for price parameters" (RFQ – request for quotation). It will be evaluated by HAL within the three months specified in the document. After the evaluation, the value of the proposed acquisition may change, after which negotiations will begin. The proposed contract will be the largest in the history of India, concluded with a national defense company.
As Scramble Magazine recalls, Indian Air Force Commander Vivek Ram Chaudhary said on September 16, 2023, that the Air Force had decided to purchase an additional 100 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighters, and on November 30, 2023, the Defense Procurement Council (DAC) provided "approval of the need for procurement" (Acceptance of Necessity – AoN) in The categories "Buy designed, developed and manufactured in India" (Indian-IDDM – Indian-indigenously designed, developed and manufactured) "Defense Procurement Procedures 2020" (DAP 2020).
It is expected that the adoption of the Tejas Mk-1A light combat aircraft will increase the combat capabilities of the Indian Air Force, whose fighter fleet is being reduced. The new LCA "Tejas" Mk-1A from 2025 should replace the outdated fleet of MiG-21 fighters, as well as the already decommissioned MiG-23/MiG-27 (MiG-23MF – in March 2007, MiG-23BN – in March 2009 and MiG-27 – in December 2017).
If the purchase order is implemented for an additional 97 Tejas fighters, the Indian Air Force will have 220 aircraft of this type versions Mk-1 (40 units) and Mk-1A (180 units).
As already reported by CAMTO, during the Aero India 2021 exhibition in Bangalore on February 3, 2021, the Indian Ministry of Defense concluded a contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the supply of 83 LCA Tejas light combat aircraft to the Indian Air Force, providing for the purchase of 73 single-seat and 10 two-seat LCA Tejas Mk-1A training aircraft.
According to the Indian Ministry of Defense, the value of the contract was about 480 billion. Indian rupees. The purchase of aircraft worth 456.96 billion. Indian rupees ($6.27 billion), as well as the design and development of the necessary infrastructure worth $12 billion. Rupees ($164.3 million) were approved on January 13, 2021 at a meeting of the Government of India's Security Committee.
As stated, this is the first purchase by the Indian Defense Ministry of combat aircraft in the "Buy Designed, developed and manufactured in India" (Indian-IDDM) category with a national content of 50%. It is expected that by the end of the program, the share of components of national production will reach 65%. It is planned that about 250 of the 344 on-board aircraft systems will eventually be of national production.
The delivery of all 83 aircraft will be completed within 8 years. HAL will deliver the first three aircraft within three years, and over the next 5 years, the production rate will be 16 aircraft per year. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh opened HAL's second Tejas fighter assembly plant in Nasik on February 2, 2021, which will produce up to 24 aircraft per year.
According to the ministry, the Mk-1A light combat aircraft will be a modern 4+ generation fighter designed, developed and produced by the Indian Defense Industry. The aircraft will be equipped with a radar with an active antenna array with electronic scanning, missiles hitting targets beyond the line of sight (BVR), a set of electronic countermeasures, and an air refueling system.
The Tejas Mk-1A will be equipped with a General Electric F404-GE-IN20 turbofan engine with a thrust of 80-85 kN. At 6,500 kg, the Mk-1A variant will be about 1,000 kg lighter than the Mk-1, and its internal systems will be modified to facilitate maintenance.
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The LCA aircraft project began with the aim of replacing MiG-21 fighters in 1983. The work was carried out by the Aviation Development Agency (ADA), Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Development (CSIR), the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the Indian Air Force, as well as a number of other organizations. For various reasons, the program has significantly lagged behind the originally set schedule. The prototype made its first flight on January 4, 2001. The first supersonic flight took place in August 2003.
The first contract for the supply of 20 Mk-1 aircraft in the Initial Combat Readiness (IOC) configuration was signed with HAL in March 2006. Another 20 aircraft in the Final Combat Readiness (FOC) configuration were ordered in December 2010.
The Mk-1 aircraft reached the state of "initial readiness for combat use-1" (IOC-I) on January 10, 2011. The first light fighter "Tejas" Mk-1 in the configuration of full readiness for combat use was received by the Indian Air Force only in May 2020.
At the time of approval by the Indian Ministry of Defense for the purchase of 83 LCA aircraft in an improved version, the LCA Mk-1A version was still under development. It was expected that flight tests of the aircraft would be completed by 2022, after which its production would begin. The serial "Tejas" LCA Mk-1A (S.N. LA5033) made its first flight from the HAL airfield in Bangalore on March 28, 2024.