HAL Tejas

The HAL Tejas (lit. 'Radiant') is an Indian single-engine, delta wing, multirole combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Navy. Tejas made its first flight in 2001 and entered into service with the IAF in 2015. In 2003, the aircraft was officially named 'Tejas'. Currently, Tejas is the smallest and lightest in its class of supersonic fighter jets.

Tejas is the second jet powered combat aircraft developed by HAL, after the HF-24 Marut. The first Tejas squadron became operational in 2016. The No. 45 Squadron IAF (Flying Daggers), based at Sulur Air Force Station (AFS) in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, was the first to have their MiG-21 Bisons replaced with the Tejas.

Tejas has three production variants - Mark 1, Mark 1A and a trainer/light attack variant. The IAF currently has placed an order for 123 Tejas and is planning to procure 97 more. The IAF plans to procure at least 324 aircraft or 18 squadrons of Tejas in all variants, including the heavier Tejas Mark 2 which is currently being developed.

As of 2016, the indigenous content in the Tejas Mark 1 is 59.7% by value and 75.5% by the number of line replaceable units. The indigenous content of the Tejas Mk 1A is expected to surpass 70% in the next four years.

The name "Tejas", meaning 'radiance' or 'brilliance' in Sanskrit, continued an Indian tradition of choosing Sanskrit-language names for both domestically and foreign-produced combat aircraft.