The Indian Air Force (IAF) on Wednesday received its first LCA Tejas twin-seater aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in the presence of the federal minister of state for defence, Ajay Bhatt.
The jet was received by IAF head Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari from HAL Chief Managing Director CB Ananthakrishnan in Bengaluru at a grand ceremony.
HAL Delivers First LCA Tejas Twin Seater Aircraft to Indian Air Force
© Photo : Twitter/@HALHQBLR
While speaking at the ceremony after receiving the aircraft, Chaudhari said: “Today is a momentous day and a matter of pride for me to accept the first two-seater LCA aircraft. This day will go down in history as a really remarkable one that exemplifies the prowess of the Indian domestic aviation industry”.
He further added that two LCA squadrons have already been set up and a contract has been signed for additional 83 LCAs.
“We are moving forward to procuring 97 more LCAs. In the coming years, we will have a fleet of 220 LCAs in the inventory of the Indian Air Force”, the IAF chief stated.
Meanwhile, terming the handover of the aircraft as historic, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said that it aligns with the India's vision of self-reliance in the defence sector.
“Some years ago we were dependent on other countries for fighter jets. PM Modi wants India to do better in all fields. We are getting Atmanirbhar (self-reliant)”, he stated.
The Bengaluru-headquartered company said the twin-seater variant has all the capabilities to support the training requirements of the IAF and can augment itself to the role of fighter as well in case of necessity.
As of now, the company has an order for 18 aircraft from the IAF and is planning to deliver eight of them during 2023-24. The remaining 10 will be delivered progressively by 2026-27.