Tejas

India’s HAL has received the first center fuselage for the Mk. 1A version of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to be produced by private industry.

The Indian government unveiled a new industry partnership model on May 27 to fast-track development of the country’s first stealth fighter.

The strained relations between airframer HAL and the Indian Air Force were on full view during Aero India.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh says policies adopted by the current Indian government had “galvanized” the entire defense sector.

A crippling lack of key indigenous infrastructure and skills continues to hold back India’s defense industry, despite rising investment.

The quiet Dec. 23 announcement that the Kaveri jet engine is now cleared to reenter flight test after a 15-year-long hiatus could be easily missed.

Companies that supply engines, avionics, missiles and other systems find a market as nations seek to develop their own aircraft

The “successful” sortie of the first Tejas Mk1A, bearing company serial number LA-5033, lasted 18 min. and was flown by chief test pilot KK Venugpal.

Indian Air Force investigators are probing the March 12 crash of a Tejas light combat aircraft—the first such accident since the type’s initial test flight.

Changes to India’s military procurement process would have implications for the broader world combat aircraft market.

India has carried out the first live firing of the indigenously developed Astra air-to-air missile from its HAL Tejas fighter.

A joint statement hailed the agreement as a “trailblazing initiative that would “enable greater transfer of U.S. jet engine technology than ever before.”