In what could be the government’s largest-ever purchase of indigenously-built military equipment, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) a request for proposal (RfP) for 97 Tejas Mark 1A fighter aircraft.
A HAL spokesperson has confirmed that the defence public-sector undertaking (DPSU) has been given three months to respond to the MoD’s RfP with a detailed proposal.
HAL is close to completing an earlier MoD order for 40 Tejas Mark 1 fighters (two squadrons). Following that, the MoD placed an order in February 2021 for 83 Tejas Mark 1A fighters (four squadrons) worth Rs 45,700 crore. The six Tejas squadrons already ordered will now be supplemented by five squadrons (97 Tejas Mark 1A), taking the number of indigenous Tejas fighters to 11 squadrons.
