Rs 48,000 crore Tejas aircraft deal to be signed on Wednesday

The government is set to formally seal on February 3 the Rs 48,000 crore deal to procure 83 Tejas light combat aircraft from state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Air Force, officials said on Wednesday.

The mega contract will be signed at the Aero India air show in Bengaluru in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, top brass of the IAF and senior officials of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), they said.

Tejas is a single engine and highly agile multi-role supersonic fighter capable of operating in high-threat air environments.

The aircraft, manufactured by the HAL, is a potent platform for air combat and offensive air support with reconnaissance and anti-ship operations as its secondary roles.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 13 approved the deal for procurement of the 73 Tejas Mk-1A variant and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 trainer aircraft from the HAL to boost Indian Air Force’s combat prowess.

The Tejas Mk-IA will be equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar, beyond visual range missile, electronic warfare suite and air-to-air refuelling system.

Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited R Madhavan told PTI last month that the delivery of the Tejas aircraft to the IAF will begin from March 2024 and around 16 aircraft will be rolled out annually till completion of the total supply of 83 jets.

Madhavan said the basic price of the aircraft will be around Rs 25,000 crore while Rs 11,000 crore will be used for ground support equipment and other required infrastructure at the bases and around Rs 7,000 for basic customs duty and output GST.

The HAL chairman and managing director said the cost for each fighter version of the four-and-half generation aircraft will be Rs 309 crore and Rs 280 crore for the trainer version.

The total cost of Rs 48,000 crore includes design and development cost of Rs 2,500 crore to be given to Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and around Rs 2,250 crore set aside for variations in foreign currency exchange rate.

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor