A flight to remember, says PM Modi after completing a sortie on Tejas fighter aircraft; shares video | India News

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday successfully completed a sortie on Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas’ trainer variant, and said the experience has bolstered his confidence in the country’s indigenous capabilities.
Tejas is a homegrown indigenous aircraft designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab in Bengaluru and manufactured by HAL, headquartered in Bengaluru.
The Prime Minister shared a video of his experience on his social media handle X, formerly known as Twitter, and said that it was “a flight to remember”.

“Tejas is India’s pride, a manifestation of the strength and skills of 140 crore Indians,” he said.
PM Modi arrived in Bengaluru earlier today and visited Defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to review the ongoing work at its manufacturing facilities, officials said.
“…The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country’s indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential,” said PM Modi, who became the first PM to fly in the Tejas.

The government has ordered 83 light combat aircraft (LCA) Mk 1A Tejas aircraft worth Rs 36,468 crore with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in an effort to amp up India’s defence preparedness, official sources said on Saturday.
The delivery is scheduled to begin by February 2024. More than Rs 9,000 crore has been sanctioned for the development of LCA Mk 2, an upgraded and more lethal variant of LCA Tejas.