Jakarta –
The Indian Ministry of Defense is reporting that it is offering 18 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. The country has offered to Malaysia, and said a number of countries are also interested in buying, including Indonesia.
“Other countries that have shown interest in LCA aircraft are: Argentina, Australia, Egypt, the United States (US), Indonesia and the Philippines,” India’s junior defense minister, Ajay Bhatt, said in a written statement, quoted by Channel News Asia, Friday. (5/8/2022).
Regarding the sale of fighter jets to Malaysia, Bhatt said that Hindustan Aeronautics in October last year had responded to a request for proposal from the Royal Malaysian Air Force for 18 jets, including an offer to sell the Tejas variant.
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On the other hand, India is reducing its dependence on foreign defense equipment. Hence, the government provides substantial funds for aircraft manufacturers to produce fighter jets.
The Indian government last year awarded a $6 billion contract to Hindustan Aeronautics to produce 83 Tejas jets. That way, India can be independent in the procurement of combat equipment.
Britain also said it would support India’s goal of building its own fighter jet. India currently has a mix of Russian, British and French fighter jets.
India wants to stop all Russian Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter jets by 2025, following a number of fatal crashes, the Times of India daily reported last month.
(hns/hns)
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