ISLAMABAD, Aug 05 (Alliance News): The Indian Ministry of Defense has said that it has offered to sell 18 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) ‘Tejas’ to Malaysia, while Argentina, Australia, Egypt, USA, Indonesia and the Philippines are also interested in buying these single-engine fighter planes. have
According to the foreign media, the Indian government last year awarded a $6 billion contract to the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to start delivery of 83 locally produced Tejas jets from 2023, for the first time. Approval was given four decades ago in 1983.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government wants to reduce dependence on foreign defense equipment, his government is also making diplomatic efforts to export jet aircraft.
The Tejas has faced design and other challenges, with the Indian Navy once rejecting it as too heavy.
Hindustan Aeronautics offered to sell the 2-seat variant of the Tejas to the Royal Malaysian Air Force’s request for 18 jets in October last year, the Ministry of Defense told Parliament.
In a written reply, India’s junior defense minister Ajay Bhatt told parliamentarians that other countries that have shown interest in buying LCA aircraft include Argentina, Australia, Egypt, the US, Indonesia and the Philippines.
He said India is also working on stealth fighter jets, but declined to give a timeline due to national security concerns.
Read more: India also succeeded in building warships
Britain had said in April that it would support India in developing its warships.
India has Russian, British and French-made fighter jets.
According to the daily ‘Times of India’, due to several fatal accidents, India wants to ground the Soviet-era Russian fighter jet ‘MIG-21’ by 2025.
