India’s HAL set to make a mark in foreign defence market with Tejas

“GlobalData expects that the contracts will strengthen the domestic aerospace and defense industry in India besides helping the country achieve its vision of developing more advanced aircraft with indigenised components such as Uttam active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the Unified Electronic Warfare Suite (UEWS), that have been promoted under ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative.  Under the program, additional measures are expected to be rolled out to help encourage local defence companies to increase their participation in the supply chain and increase self-reliance on the local market.

“Over the last few years, there has been an increased focus on indigenisation, which has reoriented local defence manufacturers to explore foreign markets. At present, Indian defence equipment manufacturers are focusing on enhancing their R&D and manufacturing capabilities to support indigenous programmes.

“Reports suggest that the proposed deal for Egypt will include a full transfer of technology (ToT) to encourage manufacturing of Tejas aircraft within the Egyptian territory. Whereas the contract with Argentina will involve replacing its ageing fleet of Lockheed Martin’s A-4AR Fightinghawk. If these deals are signed, then the Tejas LCA Mk-1 will be the first combat aircraft to be exported from India to another nation. GlobalData estimates the deals will generate revenue of $1.5-2 billion for HAL.”