IAF flags concern over delay in new Tejas LCA

The Indian Air Force is unhappy with the current pace of the Tejas light combat aircraft programme because of the possible risks a delay in the induction of new fighter planes could pose to the air force’s combat effectiveness, and has flagged the hot-button issue to plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, calling for timely execution of the ₹48,000-crore contract for 83 jets, senior IAF officers aware of the matter said on Thursday. In a review last year, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari described the fighter aircraft as the flag-bearer of the air force’s efforts towards the indigenisation of its combat fleet. HAL has set up a new production line in Nashik for LCA Mk-1As to meet IAF’s growing needs. IAF recently relocated its last MiG-21 fighters from their home base at Suratgarh in Rajasthan to the sprawling Nal desert fighter base near Bikaner, where the only other remaining Indian MiG-21s are based, as the world’s fourth largest air force prepares the ground to pull these iconic planes out of service and begins raising its new LCA-Mk-1A fleet.