India clears Rs 62,000 crore deal to buy 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter jets

NEW DELHI: In a major boost for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ in defence project, the government on Tuesday cleared the project for buying 97 LCA Mark 1A fighter jets for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The final approval for the acquisition of 97 LCA Mark 1A fighters was given by a high-level meeting on Tuesday and will pave the way for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce the aircraft, defence sources said. This will be the second order for the LCA Mark 1A fighters, as the government has already placed orders for 83 aircraft a few years ago for around Rs 48,000 crore.

The programme will help the IAF to replace its fleet of MiG- 21s, which are finally being phased out by the government in next few weeks, they said. The indigenous fighter aircraft programme, fully backed by Defence Ministry and Air Headquarters is set to be a big boost for promoting indigenisation as well as give major business to the small and medium enterprises engaged in defence business across the country, they said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for the revival of the HAL, which has bagged orders for building all types of indigenous fighter aircraft, helicopters, along with the engines for them under his government. The Prime Minister had also undertaken a sortie in the trainer variant of the indigenous fighter, which was first-ever sortie by the Prime Minister of India in any combat aircraft.

The plan to acquire 97 more LCA Mark 1A fighter jets was also announced first by the then Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on foreign soil in Spain when he told ANI about the mega plans to boost the indigenous fighter aircraft orders.

The LCA Mark 1A plane has more advanced avionics and radars than the initial 40 LCAs being supplied to the Air Force. The indigenous content in the new LCA Mark1As is going to be more than 65 per cent. The programme has been the harbinger of the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the nation. More importantly, it is a flag bearer of India’s self-reliance in the aerospace sector.

The HAL is also set to bag deals for buying over 200 LCA Mark 2s and a similar number of fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft. (ANI)