HAL Tejas

Tejas
Role	Multirole fighter
National origin	India
Manufacturer	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Design group	Aeronautical Development Agency
First flight	4 January 2001
Introduction	17 January 2015
Status	In service
Primary user	Indian Air Force
Produced	2001–present
Number built	16 (including prototypes as of November 2014)
Program cost	₹7,399.69 crore (US$1 billion) (LCA total in 2015)
Unit cost	₹160 crore (US$24 million) for Mark I ₹275 crore (US$41 million) - ₹300 crore (US$45 million) for Mark IA

The HAL Tejas is an Indian single-seat, single-jet engine, multi-role light fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Navy. The aircraft has a tail-less compound delta-wing configuration, which gives it high maneuverability. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. LCA was officially named "Tejas" in 2003, meaning "Radiant" in Sanskrit by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Tejas has a pure double delta wing configuration (wing root leading edge sweep 50°, outer wing leading edge sweep 62.5° and trailing edge forward sweep 4°), with no tailplanes or canard, and a single dorsal fin. It integrates technologies such as relaxed static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, multi-mode radar, integrated digital avionics system, composite material structures, and a flat rated engine. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.

The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after the HAL HF-24 Marut. As of 2016 the Tejas MK1 was in production for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the naval version was undergoing flight tests for Indian Navy (IN). The projected requirement for IAF is 200 single-seat fighters and 20 twin-seat trainers, while the IN expects to operate 40 single-seat fighters. The first Tejas IAF unit, No. 45 Squadron IAF Flying Daggers was formed on 1 July 2016 with two aircraft. Initially being stationed at Bangalore, the first squadron will be placed at its home base at Sulur, Tamil Nadu.