DM Rajnath Singh To Inaugurate HAL's Second LCA Production Line in Bengaluru

According to HAL sources, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will inaugurate Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's Tejas Light Combat Aircraft's second production line on Tuesday. The event will take place a day before the opening of the Aero India 2021, the country's premier aerospace and Defence exhibition at Air Force Station, Yelahanka on Wednesday.

Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, R Madhavan said that the delivery of the Tejas LCA Mk1a to the Indian Air Force under a ₹ 48,000-crore deal will begin from March 2024 and around 16 aircraft will be rolled out annually till the completion of the total supply of 83 jets.

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Shri Raj Kumar, Secretary, Department of Defence Production recently also visited HAL facilities in Bengaluru on January 16, 2021.

Shri Raj Kumar, Secretary, Department of Defence Production @DefProdnIndia visited HAL facilities in Bengaluru on January 16, 2021. pic.twitter.com/ItUKtCqplk

— Defence Production India (@DefProdnIndia) January 19, 2021

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13 had approved the deal to procure 73 Tejas Mk-1A variants and ten LCA Tejas Mk-1 trainer aircraft from the HAL to boost the Indian Air Force's combat capabilities.

According to defense sources, the Tejas deal is the first major step towards indigenization under the "Atmanirbhar" plan. However, it must be noted that only around 60 percent of indigenous components will be incorporated in the fighter jets and the rest 40 percent will be imported.

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The major components which are imported will include Radars, Engines, and Electronic Warfare systems. In order to achieve full self-reliance, we will have to develop these technologies in India and that can only be done by promoting more Public-Private partnerships. Along with Tejas, HAL is also working on other projects which include TEDBF, AMCA, and Tejas Mk2 variant.