Hindustan Aeronautics bags Rs 65,000 Cr Defence Order for 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter jets

Bengaluru: The Defence Ministry issued a tender to HAL for purchasing made-in-India 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter jets expected to be worth over Rs 65,000 crore.

This is set to be the largest order for indigenous military hardware to be placed by the Indian government ever.

The programme will help the IAF to replace its fleet of MiG-21s, MiG-23s and MiG-27s which have been either phased out or are set to be phased out in near future, government officials told a news agency.

The indigenous fighter aircraft programme, fully backed by Defence Ministry and Air Headquarters is set to be a big boost for promoting indigenisation as well as give major business to the small and medium enterprises engaged in defence business across the country, they said.

The decision to buy 97 more of these planes came around after the Air Chief held a review meeting of the indigenous fighter jet programme with all entities involved including the Hindustan Aeronautics.

The last order for LCA Mark1A was for 83 aircraft and the first plane is poised to be delivered in a few weeks from now. LCA Mark 1A is the advanced version of Tejas aircraft.

The HAL is also set to bag deals for buying over 200 LCA Mark 2s and similar number of fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.

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