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What is HAL Tejas?
The HAL Tejas is an Indian single-engine, 4.5-generation multirole combat aircraft with a delta wing design, developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The Tejas had its maiden flight in 2001 and was inducted into the IAF in 2015. The first operational squadron of Tejas was formed in 2016, with No. 45 Squadron IAF – Flying Daggers – being the first to transition from MiG-21 Bisons to the Tejas.
What is the HAL Tejas?
The Tejas is a single-engine, multirole combat aircraft featuring a tailless, compound delta wing design with "relaxed static stability", which enhances its manoeuvrability and agility.
The Tejas is capable of executing multiple roles, including aerial interception of enemy aircraft, air-to-surface strikes, and anti-shipping operations.
The design of the Tejas has been optimised through wind tunnel testing and computational fluid dynamics analysis.
What sets the HAL Tejas apart?
The Tejas is constructed using a combination of aluminium-lithium alloys, titanium alloys, and carbon-fibre composite materials.
These composite materials make up 45 per cent of the airframe by weight and 90 per cent by surface area, the highest among contemporary aircraft.
It is also reported to be the smallest and lightest supersonic combat aircraft in its class.
What weapons and systems does the HAL Tejas carry?
Its weapon suite includes I-Derby ER and Astra beyond visual range air-to-air missiles, as well as R-73, Python-5, and ASRAAM short-range missiles.
The Tejas is also armed with an internal 23 mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 twin-barrelled autocannon.
The Tejas is equipped with eight hardpoints. Of these, three are wet hardpoints capable of carrying drop tanks.
The hardpoint beneath the port-side air intake is designated for sensor pods such as forward looking infrared, infrared search and track (IRST), or laser rangefinder/designators, which can also be carried on the centreline pylon and inboard pairs of wing stations.
The aircraft is also equipped with an aerial refuelling probe on the starboard side of the forward fuselage.
What engine does the HAL Tejas use?
Since 2004, the Tejas has been powered by upgraded General Electric F404-GE-IN20 engines, with the Tejas Mark 1 variant currently using the F404 IN20 engine.
The Mark 1A variant will continue to use the same engine, while the future Tejas Mark 2 will be powered by the more potent General Electric F414 INS6 engine.
How many variants will the HAL Tejas have?
Tejas will ultimately have three production variants: Tejas Mark 1, Mark 1A, and the Tejas trainer/light attack aircraft.
The IAF has already placed orders for 123 Tejas aircraft and is planning to acquire an additional 97. Ultimately, the IAF intends to procure at least 324 aircraft, equivalent to 18 squadrons, across all variants, including the more advanced Tejas Mark 2, which is currently under development.
The first Tejas Mark 1A fighter aircraft took to the skies from the HAL facility in Bengaluru on March 28, 2024.
As of August 2024, the IAF had already inducted 35 of the 40 Tejas Mark 1 jets ordered earlier.
What is the Tejas Mark 1A?
The Tejas Mark 1A variant incorporates more than 40 enhancements over the Mark 1 variant.
The upgraded Mark 1A features a new avionics suite centred on the Israeli EL/M-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the in-house developed Uttam AESA radar.
It also includes the DARE Unified Electronic Warfare Suite, an externally mounted self-protection jammer for improved survivability, in-flight refuelling capability, and an Onboard Oxygen Generation System for extended endurance.
The weapon suite for the Mark 1A includes Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) and the United Kingdom's ASRAAM missiles, with two ASRAAMs intended for use on this variant.
HAL will also install an in-house developed Combined Interrogator and Transponder with a digital map generator, which facilitates the transfer of mission maps to the pilot's display.
The Tejas Mark 1A will reportedly have a reduced turnaround time and will utilise the indigenously developed Angad electronic warfare suite and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Advanced Self Protection Jammer pod.
What is the Tejas Mark 2?
The Tejas design has been further evolved into the Tejas Mark 2, incorporating a more powerful General Electric F414 INS6 engine, the addition of canards, and other design modifications.
Still under development, the Tejas Mark 2 will feature increased payload capacity, enhanced internal fuel capacity, additional external hardpoints, improved combat range, a completely redesigned cockpit, and an integrated IRST system, alongside an AESA radar.
An aircraft health and usage monitoring systems will also be used to integrate the various sensors on board the Tejas Mark 2.