After successfully producing the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, India is now planning to build the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), according to H Siddesha, project director and technology director of LCA.
Delivering a guest lecture on the inaugural day of 'Footprints X7' in Vadodara on Friday, Siddesha said that the IAF has placed an order of 123 Tejas Mark 1 and that all the aircraft will be inducted in the Indian Air Force by 2024.
"Every year, 16 Tejas aircraft will be built on two assembly lines. By 2024, all the aircraft will be inducted in the IAF whereas Tejas Mark 2 version will be ready by 2021," Siddesha was quoted as saying by Times of India.
He also added that Tejas is superior to France's Mirage and China's JF-17 fighter jets.
"So far, Tejas has taken 4,000 flights and in none of them it has met with even a minor accident which is a record in itself,” Siddesha said.
“The technical staff can replace engine of Tejas within 45 minutes and the cockpit and flight control system are world class," he added.
He further said that though some countries have evinced interest in procuring Tejas from India, the government is yet to take the decision on whether it should be exported.
