After serving for more than sixty years the Indian Air Force (IAF) is getting ready for a momentous and historic transition as the IAF is set to begin phasing out its iconically European MiG-21 fighter jets and transition to the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A – indigenously designed and manufactured in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The retirement of the MiG-21s will be complete by September 2025, transitioning out of a critical legacy that served as the backbone of India’s air defence. The transition replacing the MiG-21 with the Tejas LCA will also represent a distinct milestone in India’s efforts at self-reliance in defence production and equipment availability and maintenance.
The Tejas Mk1A is a 4th generation multirole fighter built to meet the changing character of air warfare. It has the Uttam AESA radar for modern detection and tracking, a glass cockpit with digital flight controls for situational awareness, an integrated electronic warfare suite for survivability in contested airspace, roughly a 500 km combat radius, and agility and aspects of stealth to optimize both offensive and defensive operations.
Equipped with new-age weapons like the Astra Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile (BVRAAM) and ASRAAM, the Tejas Mk1A is enhancing India’s deterrence and lessening dependence on foreign platforms. This transition is not only boosting the IAF’s modernization efforts but also points towards India’s increasing capacity in domestic defence technology.
