Subhechcha Ganguly 
Six nations have expressed interest in India’s Tejas aircraft, including the US, Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines; Malaysia has already shortlisted the plane for its procurement programme, the government announced on Friday. According to minister of state for defence Ajay Bhatt, Argentina and Egypt are the other two nations that have expressed interest in the plane.In response to a Request for Information (RFI) for LCA class aircraft that the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), Malaysia, sent out in February 2019, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has already sent a response.
The defence ministry signed a contract with HAL in February of last year for the purchase of 83 Tejas light combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF). He said that the government was also engaged in the production of a stealth fighter plane but would not provide a date due to national security considerations. In April, Britain said that it will back India’s effort to produce its own fighter planes. Currently, India possesses a mixture of fighter planes made in France, Britain, and Russia.Following many catastrophic crashes, India plans to ground all of its MiG-21 Russian fighter planes from the Soviet period by 2025, the Times of India daily reported last month. The Tejas aircraft has emerged as Malaysia’s top pick, according to R Madhavan, who was HAL’s chairman and managing director at the time. Bhatt responded “yes” when asked if the government intended to produce a stealth fighter plane, adding that the Defense Research and Development Organization had tested the “autonomous flying wing technology demonstration” effectively (DRDO).
By Subhechcha Ganguly
