On October 17, 2025, Union Minister Rajnath Singh, Ministry of Defence (MoD), unveiled the first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A fighter jet produced at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) facility in Nashik, Maharashtra.
- He also inaugurated HAL’s third production line for the Tejas Mk1A and the second production line for the Hindustan Turbo Trainer(HTT-40) trainer aircraft at the Nashik facility.
Exam Hints:
- What? HAL’s first LCA Tejas Mk1A fighter jet, 3rd production line of LCA Tejas Mk1A, 2nd production line of HTT-40 unveiled
- Who? Union Minister Rajnath Singh, MoD
- Where? At HAL in Nashik (Maharashtra)
- India Defence Exports: Rs.25,000 crores
LCA Tejas Mk1A Completes Maiden Flight:
Maiden Flight: LCA Tejas Mk1A aircraft, manufactured at the third production line of LCA Mk1A, successfully completed its maiden flight, demonstrating the operational readiness of the new production line.
Trials:The aircraft awaits completion of pre-induction weapon and radar integration trials, including Astra Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) and short-range missiles, Laser-Guided Bombs (LGBs), and integration with the ELTA ELM-2052 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Fire Control Radar (FCR).
About LCA Tejas Mk1A:
Overview: It is an advanced indigenously developed multirole fighter aircraft designed and produced by HAL and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), under the Department of Defence Research & Development (DR&D) under the MoD, replacing older Mikoyan-Gurevich (MiG)-21 in the Indian Air Force (IAF).
Features: The aircraft has an approximate length of 13.2 meters (m), a wingspan of 8.2 m, and a height of 4.4 m. Its maximum takeoff weight is around 13,000 Kilograms (Kg). It can reach a maximum speed of over Mach 1.8 and has a ferry range of 1,850 Kilometers (Km).
- It is powered by a single GE F404-IN20 turbofan engine, which produces approximately 84 kilonewton (kN) of thrust with afterburner.
Armament: It is equipped with a 23-millimeter (mm) GSh-23 cannon- glutathione and has multiple hardpoints capable of carrying a variety of missiles, bombs, and external pods.
Production Line:
Tejas Mk1A: Inaugurated the third production line of the LCA Tejas Mk1A at HAL Nashik facility, with an aim to meet the IAF’s requirement of 180 Tejas Mk1A jets by 2032-33.
- Each line is expected to produce 8 aircraft annually, increasing HAL’s total production to 24 jets per year.
HTT-40: Inaugurated the second production line of the HTT-40, aimed at meeting the trainer aircraft requirements of the IAF. It is expected to increase the manufacturing capacity of HTT-40 trainer aircraft, meeting the requirement for advanced pilot training.
India’s Defence Exports Reached Rs.25,000 crores:
During the inauguration event, Union Minister Rajnath Singh announced that India’s defence production has doubled to Rs.1.5 lakh crore in Financial Year 2024-25(FY25), while defence exports reached a record Rs.25,000 crore.
- The Government of India(GoI) to achieve Rs.3 lakh crore in domestic defence manufacturing and Rs.50,000 crores in defence exports by 2029.
About Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL):
Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) – Dr. D.K. Sunil Kumar
Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka
Established – 1940
