Argentina and Egypt are negotiating with India to purchase the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
CB Ananthakrishnan, chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), stated on Tuesday that India is in negotiations with Egypt and Argentina about supplying Tejas aircraft. On the sidelines of Aero India-2023, he remarked this.
According to the HAL chairman, Egypt has expressed interest in 20 Tejas aircraft, while Argentina requires 15 fighter fighters.
HAL has also volunteered to assist the Egyptian air force in establishing a domestic aerospace system.
Other countries interested in indigenously developed Tejas aircraft include the United States, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited that can operate in high-threat air conditions.
The chairman of HAL stated that Egypt is likewise interested in having an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facility and that India would like to assist Egypt in building the aerospace ecosystem.
“While discussions with the Argentine authorities continue, we have presented our proposal to Egypt, which is likewise interested in establishing a local aerospace ecosystem. We will assist in making it happen. “Two teams from the Argentine Air Force visited HAL and flew the LCA,” C B Ananthakrishnan explained.
“Two Argentine Air Force crews have visited HAL and flown the LCA,” he said.
According to persons acquainted with the situation, the Egyptian side expressed interest in acquiring the Indian platforms during delegation-level meetings between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Overall defense ties between India and Egypt have strengthened in recent years.
The defense ministry signed a Rs 48,000-crore deal with HAL in February 2021 to purchase 83 Tejas light combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
The prime minister said at the launch of Aero India on Monday that made-in-India platforms such as the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant are shining symbols of India’s actual potential in the defense manufacturing industry.
