Rs 50,000 crore! HAL flies high with Tejas

BENGALURU: Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and scores of medium and small industries are set to rake in big bucks as the ministry of defence (MoD) has sanctioned a budget of gargantuan proportions: Rs 50,000-odd crores to roll out 83 ‘Tejas’ combat jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

With the new defence procurement policy giving a huge boost to the domestic Indian industry to meet the requirements of local and global customers through the Indian Designed, Developed and Manufacture (IDDM) initiative, HAL will pocket its single largest order for production of military jets. And, with the latest decision, the number of 'Tejas' fighter aircraft set to join the IAF's fleet will cross the 120 mark as the air strike wing had ordered 40 jets earlier, sources in MoD told Deccan Chronicle.  

Ten out of the new order for 83 military jets would be the two-seater trainer variant. The final operational clearance (FOC), a much-delayed milestone of the 'Tejas' programme, would be crossed in March 2017 with air-to-air refueling and firing a BVR (beyond visual range) missile capabilities. The IAF plans to acquire 200 fighter jets and 20 trainer variants, sources added  The Indian Navy plans to buy 40 naval variant for operations from onboard aircraft carriers. The IAF has 'Tejas' entered service with a new squadron-Flying Daggers-on July 1 this year. Two military jets and a two-seater trainer, all based in Bengaluru, constitute the new squadron. Later, the squadron would shift to Sulur in Tamil Nadu.

HAL plans to add a new production line to roll out 'Tejas', incidentally the second home-grown combat aircraft after HF-24 Marut, a fighter-bomber  which was designed by legendary aeronautical engineer, the late Kurt Tank. Over the last 75 years, HAL has license-produced a large number of aircraft-from MiG 21 and MiG 27 to Gnats, Jaguars, Su-30 MKI and Hawk trainers.