India’s LCA Tejas to showcase new munitions at Dubai Airshow

LCA “Tejas” (Brilliance), the smallest and lightest supersonic fighter jet in the world, is about to get even more lethal. The integration of Al-Tariq long-range precision-guided missiles (LR-PGMs) on the fighter jet manufactured in India has been the subject of completed feasibility studies.

Al Tariq-LR is a precision-guided munition (PGM) with a long range (LR) that is produced by Al Tariq, which is a division of EDGE Group, a state-owned defence company with headquarters in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Al Tariq-LR is a precision munition kit from the Al Tariq family that uses propulsion and guidance technology to transform unguided aerial munitions into smart, high-precision, longer-range, focused weapons. The standard range precision-guided munition is also included in the Al Tariq series of precision munition kits.

The Memorandum of Understand (MoU) between Indian aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Al-Tariq, a joint venture between EDGE and South African Denel, was signed earlier this year. The news was made on the fringes of the Dubai Air Show.

In an effort to provide the area with a long-range precision weapon solution, the MoU sought to incorporate the AL TARIQ LR-PGM onto the HAL Tejas LCA and other platforms.

“We are proud to be associated with HAL in this strategic campaign to offer high technology solutions to the Tejas customers in the region. We look forward to presenting the range of AL TARIQ’s mission-proven long-range precision-guided munitions to HAL Tejas customers around the globe,” Al Tariq CEO Theunis Botha told the media.

The Indian-designed High-Speed Low Drag (HSLD) series of aerial munitions and the Mark 80 series are intended to be compatible with the modular, all-weather, day/night LR-PGMs of the AL TARIQ family. The AL TARIQ-S (Standard Range) can be upgraded to the AL TARIQ-LR (Long Range) by adding a wing kit, increasing the stand-off range from 45 to 120 kilometres.

It is anticipated that by the third quarter of 2024, AL TARIQ’s LR-PGMs on HAL’s Tejas LCA will be fully integrated and qualified.