Welcoming govt's approval to the Tejas deal, HAL chief R Madhavan described it as a major shot in the arm towards India's goal of achieving self-reliance in the aerospace and aeronautics sector
India's largest indigenous defence procurement deal is worth Rs 45,696 cr
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered 40 Tejas Mark 1 fighters, of which HAL has already built and delivered 16
One new squadron, which will be raised in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, in the coming months, will be equipped with new Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, built by HAL in Nashik
The first of a two-part series focuses on how Tejas Mark 1A will act as a bridge between the Tejas Mark 1 and the Mark 2 fighter
Combat aircraft with upgrades remain in service for many decades
While some of these systems can be bought off the shelf, integrating these on to the Tejas would require comprehensive redesign of the fighter's mission computer