Aero India 2023: Egypt, Argentina to buy LCA Tejas from India

Bengaluru: Argentina and Egypt are the latest nations to show interest in procuring the indigenously-developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas from India.

Speaking on the side lines of the ongoing Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) chairman CB Ananthakrishnan said that India is in talks with both Argentina and Egypt for possible sale of the LCA Tejas which has been developed under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative of the Indian government.

The HAL chairman was quoted as saying by news agency PTI that Egypt has communicated to India that it needs 20 LCA Tejas aircraft while Argentina has a requirement for 15 of the indigenously developed fighter jets.

The HAL chairman also informed that Egypt wants to have an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility with India regarding the LCA Tejas. India also wants to support Egypt in order to build the aerospace ecosystem.
“Two teams from the Argentine Air Force have visited HAL and have flown the Tejas LCA,” he informed.

The Egyptian delegation has reportedly conveyed an interest on acquiring Indian defence platforms during a dialogue between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

The defence co-operation between India and Egypt have seen an upswing over the last several years.

In July last year, the IAF participated in a month-long tactical leadership programme in Egypt with three Su-30 MKI jets and two C-17 transport aircraft.

In September, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had paid a three-day visit to Egypt. India is keen to expand ties with Egypt, a key player in the politics of both the Arab world as well as Africa.

Egypt is also regarded as a key gateway to markets in Africa and Europe.

Several other nations have also shown interest in buying the LCA Tejas. These include the US, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Malaysia had initially shown interest in buying procuring at least 18 LCA Tejas fighter jets in order to replace its ageing fleet of Russian MiG-29 planes.

In this regard, HAL had responded to a Request For Proposal (RFP) issued by Malaysia in October 2021. However, Malaysia is alos in talks with South Korea for the FA-50 which reportedly has an edge to bag the contract.

Manufactured by HAL as part of the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ or ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the LCA Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments.

The defence ministry had entered into a contract with HAL worth ₹48,000 crore for the procurement of 83 Tejas light combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IF) in February 2021.

Talking about the LAC Mark II of the LCA Tejas, the HAL Chairman said that HAL hopes to roll out the upgraded version of the aircraft in December 2024.

Last year, the government accorded its approval to developing the LCA Mk-2 which will have an array of advanced features.

On Sunday, Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane said the government is fully supporting the projects relating to Tejas Mark II and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

Inaugurating the Aero India on Monday, Prime Minister said made-in-India platforms like Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and aircraft carrier INS Vikrant are shining examples of India’s true potential in the defence manufacturing sector.

In his address, PM Modi showcased India as an attractive investment destination to produce military hardware and said it is looking at increasing defence exports from USD 1.5 billion to USD five billion by 2024-25.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari flew the combat aircraft during an air show at the Aero India at the inauguration ceremony.

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