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New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the purchase of 83 Tejas LCA fighter jets and 10 trainer aircraft for a cost of Rs 48,000 crore. Following the purchase of 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the Indian Government said that the new fighter would become “a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the Indian Air Force”. ALSO READ | Big Boost To IAF As Govt Approves Purchase Of 83 Tejas Fighter Jets In Rs 48,000 Cr Mega Deal
The decision to procure the aircraft in a bid to strengthen the Air Force was taken at the Cabinet Committee meeting on Security (CCS), which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Following the meeting, Rajnath Singh took to Twitter and said that the deal will be a “game-changer” for self-reliance in defense manufacturing in India. He also said that Tejas is going to be the backbone of the fighter fleet of the Indian Air Force in years to come.
All You Need To Know About The Tejas Fighter Jets
1. Tejas is India’s first self-made fighter jet, received its operational clearance for induction into the air force as a fully-weaponised fighter jet in February 2019.
2. The Tejas Mk-1A Light Combat Aircraft is an indigenously designed and manufactured fourth-generation fighter with critical operational capabilities that include an Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) radar, an Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, and is capable of air-to-air refueling (AAR).
3. The final operational clearance or FOC aircraft of Tejas has several additional capabilities compared to the initial operational clearance or IOC aircraft – the primary one being a more advanced missile capability with a significantly enhanced range.
4. The aircraft which is indigenously developed was designed by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and was manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the country’s armed forces.
5. The fully-weaponised light fighter is equipped with a jet single-engine.
6. The naval variant of the Tejas, in the development stage, successfully performed “arrested landings” on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
7. Even though the aircraft is a short-range light weight aircraft, it can carry the same amount of modern weapons that bigger warplanes carry, from precision-guided and standoff weaponry to long-range ‘beyond visual range’ missiles that can take down enemy planes from a safe distance.
8. The fighter jet comes with advanced features like Beyond Visual Range Missile capabilities, Air-to-Air Refueling, and Air-to-Ground weapons.
9. In May last year, the Air Force operationalised its second squadron of home-made Tejas fighter jets, assigning them to its No 18 Squadron – the ‘Flying Bullets’ – based at Sulur near Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. The squadron was equipped with fourth-generation Mk-1A Tejas LCA aircraft.
10. The light combat aircraft was given green signal or Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) in 2013 and was inducted into the Air Forces’ 45 Squadron in July 2016 to prepare for combat readiness.
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