By Ebi Kesiena
Argentina and Egypt have joined a number of other countries in showing interest in procuring the indigenously-developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas from India.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Chairman CB Ananthakrishnan said on the sidelines of Aero India-2023 on Tuesday that India is in talks with both Argentina and Egypt for possible supply of Tejas aircraft.
He said Egypt has a requirement for 20 aircraft while Argentina showed interest in procuring 15 fighter jets.
The US, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are also among the countries showing interest in Tejas aircraft.
Tejas, manufactured by the HAL, is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments.
In February 2021, the defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000-crore deal with HAL for the procurement of 83 Tejas light combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
Ananthakrishnan said Egypt is also keen to have an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility and that India would like to support the country to facilitate build the aerospace ecosystem.
“Two teams from the Argentine Air Force have visited HAL and flown the LCA,” he said.
Malaysia had shown interest in procuring at least 18 Tejas fighter jets to replace its ageing fleet of Russian MiG-29 planes.
In October 2021, the HAL responded to a Request For Proposal (RFP) issued by Malaysia. However, Ananthakrishnan South Korea’s FA-50 is now known to have an edge to get the order.
It is learnt that the Egyptian side conveyed its keenness on acquiring the Indian platforms during delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The overall defence ties between India and Egypt have been on an upswing in the last few years.
