HAL Tejas

The HAL Tejas is a lightweight, single-engine, multirole fighter aircraft. It was designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). It was built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Navy.  The Tejas made its first flight in 2001. It entered service with the IAF in 2015. It is the smallest and lightest supersonic aircraft in its class. The aircraft was named "Tejas" in 2003, which means "Radiance" in Sanskrit. It is the second supersonic fighter developed by HAL, after the HF-24 Marut.

Tejas comes in three versions: the Mark 1, Mark 1A, and a trainer/light attack version. The first Tejas squadron was formed in 2016, replacing the older MiG-21 aircraft. The Indian Air Force has placed an order for 123 Tejas aircraft. They plan to buy 97 more. The IAF wants to eventually have 324 Tejas aircraft in total, including the upcoming Mark 2 version. As of 2022, about 60% of the Tejas Mark 1's components are made in India. The Mark 1A is expected to have even higher levels of domestic content in the future.

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