SunstarTV Bureau: The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the purchase of 73 Tejas LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) fighter jets and 10 trainer aircraft for a cost of around Rs 45.7 core, on Wednesday.
The Tejas Mk-1A LCA is an indigenously designed and manufactured fourth-generation fighter with critical operational capabilities that include Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) radar, an Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, and is capable of air-to-air refueling (AAR).
The LCA-Tejas is going to be the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet in years to come. LCA-Tejas incorporates a large number of new technologies many of which were never attempted in India. The indigenous content of LCA-Tejas is 50% in Mk1A variant which will be enhanced to 60%.
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 13, 2021
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, “The LCA Tejas is going to be the backbone of the IAF fighter fleet in the years to come. LCA-Tejas incorporates a large number of new technologies, many of which were never attempted in India.”
Mr. Singh said the deal would also “considerably expand the current LCA ecosystem and help in creating new job opportunities”, as well as changing the Indian aerospace manufacturing sector.
