GiridharAramane, the defence secretary, officially opened Bengaluru’s third Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) assembly line.
In Bengaluru, Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) now has two LCA assembly lines that enable it to produce 16 Tejas aircraft annually.
According to C B Ananthakrishnan, chairman and managing director of HAL, “the new line will enable the business to boost Tejas Mark 1 A production capacity from 16 to 24 aircraft per year.”
It is crucial to manufacture these swiftly so that the Tejas assembly lines are free to build six squadrons of Tejas Mark 2 aircraft. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered 40 Tejas Mark 1 and 83 Tejas Mark 1A fighters from HAL.
Senior HAL and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) officials agree that the Tejas Mark 2 is unlikely to enter production until 2027-28.
