Aero India 2021: Tejas Mk-1A actually costs just Rs 309 crore

India's indigenous fighter machine Tejas which is widely called a 50,000-crore bird has a vanilla price component of only Rs 309 crore, state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited CMD R Madhavan revealed on the sidelines of the Aero India 2021. Anish Singh reports.

Revealing various price components of project Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk-1A, Madhavan said that half of total price of contract which has been recently awarded by the government is mostly made of spares, tax component and ground equipment which comes to Rs 22,000 crore while the actual price is Rs 25,000 crore for 83 LCA Tejas.
 

In fact, a Tejas Mk-1A would cost Rs 309 crore and its export version minus taxes will cost lesser than this, the HAL CMD said.
 

The trainer version of Tejas will cost Rs 288 crore. The revised qualitative requirements for 8 trainer Tejas aircraft have recently been given by the Indian Air Force. Mid-air refuelling system has been added in the revised format.

Delivery of LCA Tejas Mk-1A
 

The first Tejas of the contract will be delivered within 36 months from today and total delivery will be completed in the next 6 years from the first delivery.
 

Aatmanirbhar Bharat
 

An ecosystem of over 460 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises have come together to pitch in this project and the number is likely to swell to 560-600 by the end of this year. Out of the total project cost, Rs 6,000 crore will go to MSMEs ecosystem while Rs 3,000 crore will go into the kitty of other smaller domestic companies.

Export of Tejas
 

Several countries mostly from Southeast Asia have shown interest in LCA but the first order is yet to come, Madhavan said. These orders will be discussed and finalised on a government to government basis. With HAL fully geared up with basic infrastructure a separate production line can quickly be set-up for the export requirements, he said.
 

Ambitious LCA Tejas Mk-2
 

The ambitious Tejas Mk-2 is under design and development process which is likely to be completed in August next year and its first flight tentatively fixed in December 2023.

The HTT-40 aircraft
 

On February 4, the Indian Air Force issued a Request for Proposal to HAL for 70 Hindustan Turbo Trainer 40 (HTT-40) basic trainer aircraft.
 

Now, it would start the formal process towards a production contract, which has committed to begin deliveries within two years of contract signing.
 

On completion of the successful operation of the first order of 70 aircraft, 36 more trainers will be ordered.
 

Initially, the design will be done at Bengaluru complex and then the production will be done from the Nashik facility.

HAL's dream project: The drone arsenal
 

HAL Project Director Arup Chatterjee said its one-of-a-kind war-waging fighter team which will consist of a fighter plane as a mother ship and a team of four warrior drones, which will be able to carry out deep strikes in enemy territory while the pilot would be guiding the team without venturing inside the danger zone.
 

A combination of UAVs and autonomous vehicles will be used in this futuristic fighter operation. Swarm attack drone ALFA having a range of 100km will be released by the glider in enemy territory to hit the target. Some of ALFA machines can be used for reconnaissance operations while others will be loaded with warheads.  
 

For the Warrior drone, the HAL has invested Rs 400 crore. 

The RUAVs
 

Talking about another path-breaking utility project -- RUAV -- he said that it could be a first rotary-wing UAV capable of reaching an altitude of over 18,000 feet.
 

This versatile machine will be able to deliver to the military and other supplies to soldiers posted at icy peaks of Siachen glaciers who are currently dependent on mules and porters for their sustenance.
 

These RUAVs will have a payload of 25kg and can undertake 3-4 sorties in a day to deliver the loads.
 

HAL's order book
 

The HAL CMD said that the order book would be reaching over Rs 1 lakh crore by next year. Currently, it stands at Rs 52,000 crore and if the recent contracts for Tejas are added to it the order book will swell to Rs 88,000 crore. "That way, we are very close to our targeted Rs 1 lakh crore."