Second Production Line For India's Home-grown LCA Tejas For $203 Million

India’s indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA), Tejas will get a second production line to ramp up production.

“The government had just approved an investment of 1.36 billion Indian rupees ($203.47 million) for HAL to lay a second production line to ramp up production of the indigenous fighter,” Indian defense minister Manohar Parrikar said at a press briefing at the starting day of AeroIndia 2017 air show Tuesday.

"We are fully committed to the LCA. In another three months, work on the second line will start," he told reporters.

Parrikar said two production lines will together produce 16 aircraft to meet the needs of the air force, which is trying to replace its ageing Russian MiG-21 planes.

The aircraft has been cleared for air-to-air role. About Air-to-ground capability, over the last 6-7 months, we have had intensive air-to-ground campaigns at Jaisalmer and Pokhran. So far as radar is concerned, we have changed it COTS radar.

"Radar ranges improved by 25-30 percent. The fourth capability is the air-to-air infusion. We had one aircraft modified for the purpose and has done about six sorties already. We have also integrated a gun on the aircraft. Butt firing has been done," Cmde CD Balaji (retd), chief of Aeronautical Development Agency said during a press conference on Aero-India international seminar-2017 last Saturday.