PM successfully concludes Tejas fighter jet sortie

New Delhi, Nov 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accomplished a successful sortie on the Indian Air Force's (IAF) multirole fighter jet Tejas. Sharing his experience, the Prime Minister stated, "Completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential."

Teja is an indigenous single-engine, delta-wing light multirole fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency in collaboration with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) of Hindustan Aeronautic Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force.

The dual-seat Tejas trainer that the Prime Minister flew in today was a brand new one handed over to the Indian Air Force. It is a multirole fighter and fully combat capable. An IAF pilot flew the jet.

Tejas is set to become the bedrock of the Indian Air Force in the years to come. It was developed from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, to replace India's ageing MiG 21 fighters but later became part of a general fleet modernisation programme. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.