HAL TEJAS MK1

HAL Tejas
Role	Multirole fighter
National origin	India
Manufacturer	Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
Designer	Aeronautical Development Agency
First flight	4 January 2001
Status	In production
Primary users	Indian Air Force Indian Navy
Number built	13 (prototypes and LSP aircraft)
Program cost	US$1.2 billion
The HAL Tejas (Hindi pronunciation: [t̪eːdʒəs]) is a multirole light fighter developed by India. It is a tailless,compound delta-wing design powered by a single engine. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. Later, the LCA was officially named "Tejas", meaning "Radiance" by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Tejas has a pure delta wing configuration, with no tailplanes or foreplanes, and a single dorsal fin. It integrates technologies such as relaxed static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, multi-mode radar, integrated digital avionics system, composite material structures, and a flat rated engine. The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited after the HAL Marut. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is reported to have a requirement for 200 single-seat and 20 two-seat conversion trainers, while the Indian Navy may order up to 40 single-seaters to replace its Sea Harrier FRS.51 and Harrier T.60.The Tejas was cleared in January 2011 for use by Indian Air Force pilots. It is to reach the second of three levels of operational clearance in November 2013.