Defence Minister to inaugurate HAL’s second LCA production line on Tuesday

BENGALURU: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft’s second production line here on Tuesday, according to officials. The event comes a day before the opening of the Aero India 2021, the country’s premier aerospace and Defence exhibition, commencing at Air Force Station Yelahanka here on Wednesday.

The delivery of the Tejas LCA to the Indian Air Force under a Rs 48,000-crore deal will begin from March 2024 and around 16 aircraft will be rolled out annually till the completion of the total supply of 83 jets, Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited R Madhavan said recently.

Madhavan had also said that a number of countries have shown keen interest in procurement of the Tejas aircraft and that the first export order is likely to come by in the next couple of years.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13approved the Rs 48,000-crore deal to procure 73 Tejas Mk-1A variants and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 trainer aircraft from the HAL to boost the Indian Air Force’s combat prowess.