New Delhi: After more than three decades of development, India’s Tejas Light Combat Aircraft has finally caught up with the world’s leading aviation manufacturers. The Tejas, which I had the opportunity to fly on, is a small and nimble combat jet that is far better than what it was originally intended to be – a replacement for the MiG-21. Many of its systems are comparable to those found in leading Western fighter planes.
The main issue with the Tejas is not its technology, but rather the fact that it has taken so long to develop. Since the HF-24 Marut fighter was built in the 1970s, there had been no home-grown fighter developed for over two decades. The Light Combat Aircraft project started in the 1980s, putting India in catch-up mode in terms of military aviation technology. The Indian Air Force specified that they wanted the world’s smallest, most maneuverable, and most cost-efficient fighter, which meant that India had to build these technologies at home.
The Tejas is not a reverse-engineered product, but rather a result of painstakingly slow development. The core technologies have been built up slowly, with the process further delayed in the 1990s due to sanctions following the Pokhran nuclear test. While the Tejas features several imported systems, such as the US-built GE-404 engine and Israeli Elta 2032 radar, India has made significant progress in developing its own technologies.
The government’s recent order of 83 Tejas Mark 1A fighters, costing close to 50,000 crore rupees, is a clear endorsement of the project. Additionally, the development of the Tejas Mark-2, an improved variant with a new engine and increased weaponry capacity, has been given the go-ahead. Lessons learned from every Tejas sortie are incorporated into software fixes to further refine the jet.
The Tejas stands out with its intuitive cockpit layout, custom-designed for Indian requirements. Its digital flight control computer is the heart of the fighter, enabling safe and sharp maneuverability. The airframe itself is built using carbon composite materials developed in India, making it lighter and stronger than comparable fighters.
While the Tejas may not redefine the concept of “state-of-the-art,” its development is a positive indicator of India’s ability to manufacture fighter aircraft. The Tejas, like the rockets built by ISRO, showcases the progress of Indian engineering.
