UAE Expresses ‘Interest’ In India’s Tejas Fighter, Country’s Junior Defence Minister To Visit HAL And BEL Facilities

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has reportedly expressed interest in India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, built by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Economic Times has said in a report.

According to the daily, UAE’s minister of state for defence is in India currently and will visit facilities of HAL and Bharat Electronics Limited in Bengaluru before returning. The UAE is one of India’s closest security partners in the Gulf.

According to the daily, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Singapore have also shown interest in the fighter in the past. Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen flew a sortie in the fighter at Kalaikunda airbase in November last year.

However, no deals have been signed till now and are unlikely to be signed in the foreseeable future as the fighter is yet to get final operational clearance in India for combat missions. Moreover, the HAL is struggling to deliver the fighters to the Indian Air Force, which is down to 31 fighter squadrons against the sanctioned strength of 42. Additionally, a more advanced version of the fighter, with a more powerful engine, is likely to fly for the first time in the next few years.

The IAF had in December 2017 placed orders for 83 Tejas fighter jets, taking the total order of indigenous fighters to 123 aircraft.