Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, flew on a Tejas fighter jet on November 25, 2023, during a recent visit to aerospace manufacturing firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the aerospace and defense firm that manufactures this aircraft type.
The flight took place in the skies around Bengaluru, in the state of Karnataka, where HAL has its headquarters, and lasted for around 30 minutes.
Modi shared his impressions about the flight on his social media accounts, expressing his pride about the capabilities and achievements of the Indian aerospace industry.
The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is a single-engined light fighter jet that entered service with the Indian Air Force in 2015. To this date, HAL has delivered 40 Tejas Mark 1 to the Indian Air Force, and another 83 aircraft of the more advanced Mark 1A version is slotted for delivery in early 2024.
In the summer of 2023 it was reported on the Indian media that Argentina was interested in placing an order for up to 15 Tejas jets to modernize its ailing air force. These expectations, however, have so far failed to materialize.