PM Modi in LCA Tejas
Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took a sortie in indigenously designed and developed light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
In a X (formerly Twitter) post, he said: “Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas.”
“The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential,” Modi said.
Since the Modi government came into power in 2014, the defence sector has been a focus area and it has taken giant steps for increasing the defense preparedness and indigenisation which includes Tejas aircraft.
The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the IAF in 2016.
Currently, two squadrons of IAF, 45 No Squadron and 18 No Squadron, are fully operational with LCA Tejas.
Under Modi Government, an order worth Rs 36,468 Crore for delivery of 83 LCA Mk 1A aircraft has been placed with HAL and delivery is scheduled to begin by February 2024.
More than Rs 9000 Crore have been sanctioned for the development of LCA Mk 2, an updated and more lethal version of LCA Tejas.
To further promote indigenisation, including of the aircraft engine, Transfer of Technology for manufacturing of the GE engine in India has been negotiated with GE during Prime Minister’s visit to the US in June 2023.
