For the first time, India’s indigenously-made light combat aircraft Tejas will be participating in an international multilateral air exercise — Exercise Desert Flag VIll — in the UAE, reflecting India’s increasing efforts at showcasing the jet at the world stage.
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An Indian Air Force contingent comprising of 110 Air Warriors arrived at the Al Dahfra airbase of the United Arab Emirates to participate in the exercise, in which five LCA Tejas and two C-17 Globemaster III aircraft would take part, the IAF said. “This is the first occasion when the LCA Tejas shall participate in an international flying exercise outside India,” the IAF said in a statement. The exercise is scheduled from 27 February to 17 March.
As per the IAF, Exercise Desert Flag is a multilateral air exercise which will see participation from the air forces of the UAE, France, Kuwait, Australia, the UK, Bahrain, Morocco, Spain, Republic of Korea, and the US.
“The aim of the exercise is to participate in diverse fighter engagements and learn from the best practices of various air forces,” the IAF said.
India has been in talks with several countries to export LCA Tejas, including Argentina and Egypt. India was also hopeful of selling the platform to Malaysia, but the country has signed a deal with Korean Aerospace Industries for supply of 18 FA-50 light combat aircraft. HAL chairman CB Ananthakrishnan recently said that Egypt required 20 aircraft while Argentina had sought 15 fighter jets. HAL is also in talks with the Philippines to sell its light-combat helicopters.
The aircraft had earlier participated in air shows at Singapore, Malaysia, Bahrain and Dubai. The LCA Mk 2, which got a cabinet approval last year, has evinced interest from nearly 16 countries and efforts are on to identify private agencies to speed up the production of the jet.
Manufactured by HAL, Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments. In February 2021 the defence ministry had sealed a ₹48,000-crore deal with the company for the procurement of 83 Tejas light combat aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
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