'Experience was incredibly enriching': PM Modi takes sortie on Tejas aircraft in Bengaluru

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a sortie on a Tejas aircraft at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in Bengaluru on Saturday.

The Tejas is an indigenous single-engine, lightweight multirole fighter aircraft developed by HAL. It is the first domestically produced fighter jet to be inducted into the Indian Air Force.

Modi shared pictures of his sortie on X, saying that it was an "incredible experience" to fly in the Tejas. “Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential,” Modi wrote on X while sharing some pictures.

He also praised the work of HAL for developing the Tejas, saying that it is a "symbol of India's self-reliance in defence manufacturing."

The Tejas has been in development since the early 1980s and was first inducted into the IAF in 2016. It has since become a key part of the IAF's fleet, and is seen as a major step forward in India's efforts to become a self-reliant defence manufacturer.

Underlining his commitment to indigenous defence production, the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit and review Hindustan Aeronautics Limited's (HAL) manufacturing facility, including the production setup for Tejas jets.

This comes amid the government's push for increased domestic production and export of defence products, with several global players showing interest in the Indian-manufactured light combat aircraft.

Indeed, during the Prime Minister's US state visit, GE Aerospace signed an agreement with HAL for joint engine production for the Mk-II Tejas.

As announced in April, India's defence exports have seen an unprecedented surge to Rs 15,920 crore in FY 2022-2023.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is focusing on a deal worth a whopping Rs 1.15 lakh crore. This will see the procurement of an additional batch of 97 Tejas Mark-1A aircraft, in addition to the upgrading of 84 Sukhoi-30MKI jets, a project that alone will cost around Rs 60,000 crore.

This follows the defence ministry’s Rs 48,000-crore deal in February 2021 with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for the procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets.

The new acquisitions will expand the IAF’s fleet of indigenously-developed aircraft to a total of 180. Alongside, the defence ministry has also set eyes on inking a contract with HAL next year for 156 light combat helicopters, 66 of which will be taken up by the IAF.

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