In order to acquire 97 LCA Mk1A aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF), including 68 fighters and 29 twin seaters, as well as related equipment, the ministry of defence signed a Rs 62,370 crore contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Thursday.
The delivery of these aircraft would start in 2027-2028 and take six years to finish.In comparison to the previous LCA Mk1A contract signed in January 2021, the aircraft will have an indigenous content of over 64%, with 67 extra items added, according to the ministry of defence.
The Aatmanirbharta initiatives will be strengthened even more by integrating cutting edge domestically developed technologies such the UTTAM Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar, Swayam Raksha Kavach, and control surface actuators.
According to the ministry, a strong vendor network of almost 105 Indian businesses are directly involved in the project.
The third GE-404 engine for the LCA MK1A (Tejas Mk1A) was recently delivered to HAL, and another engine is on the way.
Enhancements to combat avionics and air to air refuelling capabilities are part of the MK1A version of the LCA.
There are 2,207 workers in the HAL Nashik division, comprising 395 engineers, 624 technical support specialists, and 1,188 technical specialists.
