At $22 million a piece, Tejas will be the cheapest fourth generation fighter aircraft. Sources said the initial talks are for the purchase of 20 aircraft.
NEW DELHI: After placing an order for 80 indigenously produced Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), the airmen are looking at laying their hands on Tejas, earlier called the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).
DNA has learnt that negotiations are in the final stages between the IAF and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for production of the indigenously produced multi-role fourth generation fighter aircraft. HAL sources in Bangalore said the initial negotiations are for the purchase of 20 aircraft.
The contract contains a commitment from HAL to start delivery in 2008. HAL sources said the first batch of eight fighters will be manufactured by middle of 2006. “In 2007 the fighter would obtain the Initial Operation Clearance,” a source said.
The LCA has had a chequered history. It was touted as a replacement for the aging MiG-21s, which make up the bulk of IAF’s fleet. Work started in 1983 and the first functional design was unveiled in 1990. But it was not till 1995 that the first flight - Technology Demonstrator-1 (TD-1) - took place. The latest flight - Prototype Vehicle-II (PV-II) - took place on December 1, 2005.
Though more than 350 test flights have taken place, critics have taken pot shots at the amount of time that the project has taken to grow wings. But several aviation experts, like Air Commodore Jasjit Singh, say the gestation period for developing a fourth generation fighter aircraft from scratch is high.
“The time taken was also more since the LCA team went for a fairly complex configuration: delta wing with no tailplanes or foreplanes and a single vertical fin. Moreover, the team decided to use composite materials like aluminium-lithium alloy, carbon-fibre composites and titanium,” Singh said.
But the best news is price. HAL sources said negotiations are hovering around Rs2000 crores for the 20 fighters. That makes it Rs100 crores for each fighter: something that has got several countries interested.
At Rs100 crore a piece, Tejas is probably the cheapest fourth generation fighter aircraft around. A comparable fighter like the Russian MiG-29, French Mirage 2000 or American F-16 costs anywhere between Rs135 crores to Rs250 crores.
Ministry of Defence sources told DNA that Chile, Malaysia and Thailand have expressed interest in the fighter aircraft.
Coming close on the heels of the ALHs creating a stir in the international market, it is another feather in the Indian defence industry’s cap.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}