The Indian Air Force will get its first delivery in March 2024 under the purchase deal of indigenously developed fighter aircraft Tejas for Rs 48 thousand crores. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman R.K. Madhavan said on Sunday that after the delivery of four aircraft in the first delivery, 16 aircraft would be made available to the Air Force every year till the completion of the supply of 83 aircraft from 2025.
Many countries are showing interest in purchasing Indian fighter aircraft
Madhavan, who is also holding the post of managing director of HAL, also claimed that many countries are showing interest in purchasing this Indian fighter aircraft and the company hopes to get the first export order of the aircraft in the next two years. He also said that any order received from any other country will not affect the timeline of delivery of aircraft to the Indian Air Force, instead, HAL will set up a new plant if required.
On January 13, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the deal to purchase 73 aircraft of the more advanced version of Tejas Mark-1A for the Air Force, as well as 10 trainer versions. . Indian Air Force and HAL will sign a formal contract for the deal worth about Rs 48,000 crore during the Aero India show on 5 February in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind.
This aircraft deal is in addition to the 40 aircraft with the initial version of Tejas, a batch of which has been inducted into the Air Force. The HAL chairman also made public the details of how much will be spent in this deal of 48 thousand crore rupees. He said a three-year strategic timeline has been laid for infrastructure development and delivery of aircraft.
563 domestic companies will benefit
The HAL chairman said that the Tejas program would give a boost to the entire aerospace sector in India, with 563 domestic companies currently operating. He said that the number of companies can increase from 600 to 650, which is very important for the entire ecosystem. The focus of the government is to boost domestic defense production for the present time and for this, a target has been set to reach a domestic defense production turnover of Rs 1.75 lakh crore by 2025.
According to an estimate, in the next five years, India will use about $ 130 billion for various types of purchases. This was indicated by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 10 May last year to implement various types of reforms to boost domestic military production.
48 thousand crores will be spent in this way
Every fighter Tejas aircraft will be worth Rs 309 crore
280 crore rupees has been priced at trainer Tejas
The basic price of the aircraft will be Rs 25000 crore
11000 crores will be spent on ground support equipment
Basic customs duty and GST of Rs 7000 crore will be
2500 crore rupees for design and development expenses
2250 crores for foreign currency exchange fluctuations
Can operate in Ladakh like other fighter aircraft
Madhavan once again claimed that the Tejas Mark-1A fighter aircraft is far superior in performance to China's JF-17 fighter aircraft. "Tejas is equipped with a better engine, radar system, and electronic warfare suite than the JF-17, as it is ahead in the overall technology," he said.
He said, the biggest difference is the ability to refuel in the air, which is not present in our opposition's ship. Madhavan also said that Tejas Mark-1A will be able to carry out operations in all parts of the inaccessible mountainous region of Ladakh like any other fighter aircraft.