"09/25/2025September 25, 2025 India has chosen domestically produced aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of Soviet-era MiGs. The move comes amid tensions with its neighbor Pakistan. India signed a 623.70 billion rupee ($7 billion; 6 billion) contract with national aircraft manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) on Thursday to modernize its armed forces. The deal involves the acquisition of 97 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets that would be made in India."
"Thursday's deal with HAL also comes after India had already signed a contract in 2021 for of 83 Tejas Mk-1A planes, the same fighter jet model ordered this week. However, the 2021 batch is yet to be delivered and HAL blames the engine manufacturer General Electric (GE), which pleaded that the COVID-19 pandemic made it a big challenge to restart the production line and caused delays in the global supply chains for the engines. The purchase of more Indian-made aircraft is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government's 'Make in India' agenda, through which India is supposed "
""This contract reflects the trust and confidence of the government and the armed forces in the indigenously developed aircraft Tejas, which will be the mainstay of the [Indian Air Force] in the years to come," wrote India's Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on the social media platform X."
India signed a 623.70 billion rupee contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to acquire 97 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets built domestically to replace ageing Soviet-era MiGs amid tensions with Pakistan. The Indian Air Force will fly 36 MiG-21s for the last time, reducing the mostly Soviet-era fleet to 29 jets. Some officials expressed concern after recent conflict with Pakistan in May. HAL had a 2021 contract for 83 Tejas Mk-1A jets that remain undelivered due to engine supply delays blamed on General Electric and COVID-19 disruptions. The procurement aligns with the Make in India agenda to boost domestic defense production.
Read at www.dw.com
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