PM Modi Takes Sorties On Tejas Fighter Jet In Bengaluru, Shares Pics Of ‘Incredible Experience’

During his visit, he conducted a comprehensive review of HAL's manufacturing facility, encompassing the production of Tejas jets.

Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday took flight in the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. The sortie happened in the backdrop of the Prime Minister’s visit to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) site in Karnataka’s Bengaluru. During his visit, he conducted a comprehensive review of HAL’s manufacturing facility, encompassing the production of Tejas jets. According to reports, the Prime Minister took the flight for nearly 45 minutes.

PM Modi shared the pictures of his flight and said that the experience of sortie in homegrown aircraft significantly bolstered his confidence in the country’s indigenous capabilities.

“Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country’s indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential,” He wrote on X.

Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country’s indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential. pic.twitter.com/4aO6Wf9XYO

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 25, 2023

Prime Minister Modi has been advocating for the indigenous production of defence products, emphasizing this approach during his visit to the United States, where GE Aerospace and HAL signed an agreement to collaboratively manufacture engines for Tejas Mk-II.

Notably, the Tejas, a light combat aircraft, has attracted interest from various countries, leading to collaborative agreements such as the one between GE Aerospace and HAL for the joint production of Mk-II Tejas engines during the Prime Minister’s visit to the US.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh noted in April this year that India’s defence exports have reached an all-time high of Rs 15,920 crore in 2022-2023. It is a remarkable achievement for the country, he had said.

According to local reports, Modi’s visit comes at a time when HAL has found itself in the spotlight after the Indian Air Force announced plans to buy more fighter jets, and light combat helicopters (LCH) and to upgrade its Sukhoi-30s. These potential contracts are worth billions of dollars.