On February 2, 2021, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) 2nd Exclusive Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas Fighter Jets Production Plant at Doddanekundi, Bangalore, Karnataka.
- The Plant will double HAL’s production capacity of LCA Tejas to 16 LCA Tejas Aircrafts a year (at present it is 8).
- The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, indigenously designed by Aircraft Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
- At Present, Tejas are being manufactured from the 1st LCA dedicated Plant & HAL’s Aircraft Division. The Plant inaugurated by the Defence Minister is technically the 3rd plant for production of Tejas LCA.
- The Plant will be used for the production of both Tejas Mk-1A variant & Trainer Jets
- It will generate employment for 500-600 people and help in reducing India’s dependency on Foreign Countries.
i.Delivery of Tejas LCA to IAF:
- In January, 2021, Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved INR 48, 000 Crore deal (Largest Indigenous order) for procurement of 73 Tejas Mk-1A Variants & 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 Trainer Aircraft from HAL.
- The delivery of the Tejas LCA will begin from March 2024.
ii.Rajnath Singh stated that several countries have expressed their interests to procure LCA Tejas from India.
iii.India has set a target of achieving a turnover of INR 1.75 Lakh Crore (USD 25 Billion) in Defence Manufacturing by 2025.
Recent Related News:
i.On May 27, 2020 The IAF operationalised its 2nd squadron(Sqn) No. 18 ‘Flying Bullet’ equipped with Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas (Mk-1) Final Operational Clearance(FOC) at its Sulur Air Force Station in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL):
Chairman and Managing Director – R Madhavan
Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
