Bhubaneswar: The Cabinet Committee on Security has cleared the Tejas Mark-2 project at a cost of over Rs 10,000 crore.
The LCA Mk-2, equipped with a more powerful engine, is expected to succeed fighters like the Mirage-2000s, Jaguars and MiG-29s in the IAF’s fleet.
The Tejas Mark-2 is believed to be a more potent version of the indigenous Tejas multirole combat jet. Tejas is a single engine and highly agile multi-role supersonic fighter manufactured by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The Tejas Mark-2 has been described as a 4.5-generation machine that will not only have 70 per cent indigenisation (as opposed to the 62 per cent of the Mark IA), but will incorporate more advanced technologies to be built in India.
The jet will be fitted with more powerful GE-414 engines, giving it a longer combat range and greater capacity to carry weapons than the existing Tejas Mark-1 (GE-404 engines).
IAF has so far inducted about 30 of the 123 Tejas jets ordered earlier from Hindustan Aeronautics, with the last Rs 46,898 crore contract for 73 improved Mark-1A fighters and 10 trainers being inked in February 2021 for delivery in the 2024-2028 timeframe.
As for Tejas Mark-2, DRDO and Aeronautical Development Agency aim to conduct its first flight in two to three years, with the production beginning by around 2030, sources said.
