Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday boared for a sortie on indigenously manufatured Tejas fighter in Bengaluru, during his visit to state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Terming the experience "incredibly enriching", the prime minister exuded confidence in the country's capabilities in the field of manufacturing indigenous defence equipment. During his visit to the manufacturing facility of HAL, Modi also reiterated the importance of indigenous production of defence products.
It has been reported that several countries so far have shown ardent interest in buying Tejas.
Tejas is known to be a light combat aircraft. It has also been known that the US defence giant GE Aerospace had inked a pact with HAL to jointly produce engines for the Mk-II-Tejas during the prime minister's state visit to the US.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh noted in April this year that India’s defence exports have reached an all-time high of Rs 15,920 crore in FY 2022-2023.