Full size view of the Indian Air Force Tejas aircraft. Credit: Venkat Mangudi.

The Indian Government has officially sealed the Rs480bn ($6.57bn) deal to procure 83 Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) from state-owned aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

It was handed over by Indian Ministry of Defence director general (Acquisition) V L Kantha Rao to HAL chairman and managing director R Madhavan.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI) as saying: “I am very happy that HAL has got the orders for development of 83 new indigenous LCA (light combat aircraft) Tejas MK1A from Indian Air Force valued at more than Rs48,000 crore.

“It is probably the biggest Make in India Defence contract till date.”

On 3 February, a display of Tejas platform was made in the country’s premier defence and aerospace show ‘Aero India 2021’.

The Tejas single-seat, single-engine, lightweight, high-agility supersonic fighter aircraft is manufactured by HAL. It entered service with the Indian Air Force (IAF) in July 2016.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The aircraft’s design and development programme was led by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), with HAL as the prime industrial contractor.

Delivery of the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) to the IAF will begin from March 2024.

According to a statement released by India’s Ministry of Defence, nearly 500 Indian companies, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in the design and manufacturing sectors will be working with HAL for the latest procurement.

The contract gives a further push to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.