New Delhi: In a major boost to self reliance or Aatmanirbharta in the defence sector, the government’s highest body, Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared on August 19 the Rs 62,000-crore deal to buy 97 LCA Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets.
This paves the way for one of the leading defence Public Sector Undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to produce the aircraft.
The indigenous content in the new LCA Mark 1As is going to be more than 65 per cent.
This will be the second order for the LCA Mark 1A fighters, as the government has already placed orders for 83 aircraft a few years ago for around Rs 48,000 crore.
The programme will help the IAF to replace its fleet of MiG- 21s, which are finally being phased out by the government in next few weeks, defence sources said.
The indigenous fighter aircraft programme, fully backed by Defence Ministry and Air Headquarters is set to be a big boost for promoting indigenisation as well as give major business to the small and medium enterprises engaged in defence business across the country, they said.
Prime Minister Modi has been pushing for the revival of the HAL, which has bagged orders for building all types of indigenous fighter aircraft, helicopters, along with the engines for them under his government.
The Prime Minister had also undertaken a sortie in the trainer variant of the indigenous fighter, which was first-ever sortie by the Prime Minister of India in any combat aircraft.
The plan to acquire 97 more LCA Mark 1A fighter jets was also announced first by the then Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on foreign soil in Spain when he mentioned the mega plans to boost the indigenous fighter aircraft orders.
The LCA Mark 1A aircraft has more advanced avionics and radars than the initial 40 LCAs being supplied to the Air Force.
The programme has been the harbinger of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the nation. More importantly, it is a flag bearer of India’s self-reliance in the aerospace sector.
The HAL is also set to bag deals for buying over 200 LCA Mark 2s and a similar number of fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
