India Signs $7 Billion Deal with State-Run HAL for 97 More Tejas Combat Jets
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Ministry of Defence (MoD) on Sep. 25, 2025, signed a US$7-billion (INR 62,370-crore) contract with state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for buying 97 Tejas Mk1A combat aircraft for the air force.
The deal would include 68 fighters and 29 twin-seater trainers, along with associated equipment. The first delivery under this contract is expected in 2027-28, and the entire lot is scheduled to be delivered within the next six years.
In a statement, the MoD said the aircraft would have 64 percent indigenous content, with an additional 67 items incorporated compared to the number of indigenous components that are part of the aircraft to be delivered later this year under the January 2021 contract for Light Combat Aircraft Mk1A.
“The integration of advanced indigenously developed systems such as the UTTAM Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Swayam Raksha Kavach, and control surface actuators will further strengthen the ‘Aatmanirbharta’ initiatives,” the statement said.
The project is being supported by a robust vendor base of nearly 105 Indian companies directly engaged in the manufacture of detailed components. The production is expected to generate 11,750 direct and indirect jobs annually for six years, giving a major boost to the domestic aerospace ecosystem.
The acquisition, under the ‘Buy (India-IDDM)’ category of Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, is in line with the government’s thrust on indigenisation. The LCA Mk1A is the most advanced variant of the indigenously designed and manufactured fighter aircraft.
It “will serve as a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the IAF,” it said.
The contract comes just a day ahead of the phase-out of the last of the Soviet-era MiG-21 supersonic combat jets from the air force.
With the 40 Mk1s on order and 83 Mk1As on order, the total number of Tejas that the IAF would get is 220, enough for raising 10-12 combat squadrons.
With the MiG-21 phase out, the IAF’s combat squadron strength has gone down precariously close to 30 against a sanctioned strength of 42.5 squadrons.
The Tejas Mk1A is expected to make up for the gaps in the fleet strength and to shore the IAF squadrons numbers.
(Courtesy: Defence.Capital)
