India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has revealed that it is now in talks with the governments of Egypt and Argentina to supply a large number of Tejas LCA Mk-1A fighter aircraft.
The announcement was made by company chairman Shri Ananthakrishnan during the recently held Aero-India 2023.
As part of the proposal, HAL would deliver 20 Tejas to Cairo and provide a complete transfer of technology to produce the aircraft locally.
For Argentina, the proposed contract would replace the country’s aging fleet of Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawks.
Buenos Aires has reportedly projected a requirement for 15 aircraft.
“Egypt has also shown interest in creating a local aerospace ecosystem. We will help facilitate that. Two teams from the Argentine Air Force have visited HAL and flown the LCA,” Ananthakrishnan said.
If the deals go through, Egypt and Argentina would become the first foreign operators of the Tejas fighter aircraft.
Aircraft Features
The Tejas is a light, multi-mission fighter aircraft originally designed for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy.
The 6.5-ton, single-engine aircraft features a quadruple fly-by-wire digital automatic flight control system for improved performance.
It also has a compound tailless delta that allows the Tejas to carry a wider range of weapons, such as bombs and missiles.
Additionally, the plane’s navigation suite consists of a SIGMA 95N ring laser gyroscope inertial navigation system with an integrated positioning system.
The aircraft can reach a speed of Mach 1.6.