The Tejas Mk-1A LCA is an indigenously designed and manufactured fourth-generation fighter jet
The purchase of 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft fighter jets will help create over 50,000 jobs in India, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said today.
"We have given approval for the acquisition of 83 indigenous LCA Tejas fighter jets from HAL. This decision will help generate more than 50,000 job opportunities in the country," Mr Singh said during the Veterans Day event in Bengaluru.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the purchase of 73 Tejas LCA fighter jets and 10 trainer aircraft for a cost of around Rs 45,700 crore.
After the approval, Mr Singh had said that the Tejas will become the backbone of Air Force soon and generate employment.
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, the Defence Minister said on Wednesday.
"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," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted, adding that the deal was a "game-changer for self-reliance in the Indian defence manufacturing (sector)", he had tweeted.
In a statement issued Wednesday evening the government said the 73 Tejas LCA fighter aircraft would become "a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the Indian Air Force".
The Tejas Mk-1A LCA is an indigenously designed and manufactured fourth-generation fighter with critical operational capabilities that include an Active Electronically-Scanned Array (AESA) radar, an Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, and is capable of air-to-air refuelling (AAR).