India on Thursday signed a 623.70 billion ($ 7 billion; € 6 billion) contract with National Aircraft Manufacturers Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) to modernize its armed forces.
The deal includes the acquisition of 97 Tejas MK -1A fighter jets which will be built in India.
“This contract reflects the confidence and belief of the government and the armed forces in the indigenously developed aircraft Tejas, which will be the mainstay [Indian Air Force] In the coming years, “India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh wrote on the social media platform X.”
India to retire Soviet-Fighter Jets
The last time after the use of decades, the Indian Air Force had announced the order a day before flying on 36 of its MiG -21 aircraft, which would reduce most of their Soviet -arms.
Some Indian officials do not welcome MiG deficiency after a recent struggle with Pakistan in May.
Indian aerospace expert Angad Sing told the AFP news agency that India had “originally planned” to retire the Russian fleet in the 1990s and later “no alternative”, but to upgrade them to “squeeze more lives” to upgrade them.
Modi aims to beef to the domestic defense industry
Thursday’s deal with HAL came after India after signing a contract for 83 Tejas MK-1A aircraft in 2021, the same fighter jet model ordered this week.
However, the 2021 batch has not yet been distributed and HAL has convicted the engine manufacturer General Electric (GE), which said that the Kovid -19 epidemic made a major challenge to resume the production line and caused delay in global supply chains for engines.
The purchase of more Indian -made aircraft is part of the ‘Make in India’ agenda of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, through which India is considered “to become a global leader in manufacturing and innovation”, the Indian Defense Minister posted on X.
Meanwhile, in April, the Government of India closed a multi-union deal to buy 26 Rafale fighter jets from Dassault Aviation, France. The new jets will join the current fleet of 36 Rafales in India.
Edited by: ZAC Crellin