Acquisition of another 97 Tejas, 6 AEW&C aircraft gets CCS nod

New DELHI: India on Tuesday gave the final nod for acquisition of another 97 indigenous Tejas fighter jets and six advanced airborne early-warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft or “eyes in the sky”, collectively worth around Rs 85,500 crore, which will be crucial to tackle the collusive and ‘fused’ challenge from China-Pakistan in the years ahead.

The PM-led cabinet committee on security (CCS) approved the Rs 66,500 crore deal for 97 “improved” Tejas Mark-1A fighters to be produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which will add to the 83 such single-engine light combat aircraft already ordered from defence PSU under a Rs 46,898 crore deal inked in Feb 2021, top sources told TOI.