Aero India 2023: HAL aims to sell Tejas fighters to Argentina and Egypt

India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is in talks with delegations from several countries for the sale of its LCA Tejas light fighter.

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Speaking to reporters today at the Aero India 2023 international aerospace show, HAL chairman and managing director C.B. Ananthakrishnan said the company has submitted proposals for the sale of 15 Tejas to Argentina and 20 aircraft to Egypt.

«Both Argentina and Egypt have shown interest in Tejas aircraft. Two Argentine teams have visited us and are very convinced about the product. A team from the Argentine Air Force has flown with the aircraft. A contract is likely to be signed soon,» Ananthakrishnan told reporters at The Hindu.

«Egypt has also shown interest in creating a local aerospace ecosystem. We will help facilitate it,» the HAL chairman then added.

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Both countries were offered the LCA Mk-1A model, the most advanced Tejas variant, currently in production for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Setback in Malaysia

Apart from Egypt and Argentina, HAL is still in talks with Malaysia for the supply of the Tejas under the LCA / FLIT program, which seeks to acquire 18 light fighter / advanced lead trainer aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF or TUDM).

According to information published by local media in November last year, KAI´s FA-50 was the aircraft selected as the winner of the Malaysian competition, despite having a somewhat more expensive purchase price than the HAL Tejas and the CATIC JF-17. However, the decision would have been challenged by the competition.

«With Malaysia, we are one of the shortlisted companies, and we were very confident of getting that contract, but there has been a bit of a setback. Although we haven’t received anything in black and white, what we hear is that the Koreans are likely to get the order. Despite this, we are going ahead with the deal with Malaysia,» Ananthakrishnan said.

Hope in the land of the Pharaohs

In Egypt, the Tejas is once again competing with the South Korean FA-50. In fact, Korea Aerospace Industries said it is looking to establish an industrial partnership for the production and marketing of the FA-50 in Africa and the Middle East, and Egypt is a strong candidate, where it sees a potential market of about 100 aircraft.

KAI’s current policy of seeking commercial/industrial partners to establish «beachheads» on each continent was described by Kang Gu-young, CEO of the South Korean company, when he outlined his «Global KAI 2050 -Beyond Aerospace-» business strategy. As part of these plans, there is speculation about the development of the F-50, the single-seat multirole light combat version of the FA-50.

Ananthakrishnan’s mention of helping Egypt create a «local aerospace ecosystem» would go in the same direction as South Korea’s offer.

The long search for a supersonic fighter for Argentina

In August 2022, India and Argentina established a common agenda to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. In item n°10, under Cooperation in strategic sectors, the specific interest of the Argentine Air Force in the Indian-made light fighter, HAL Tejas, is mentioned. The Argentine Air Force (FAA) then received a formal invitation for a technical commission to evaluate in situ the capabilities of the Tejas.

Indeed, an Argentine delegation is currently visiting Aero India 2023 to discuss in depth the offer for the HAL Tejas, which should include the replacement of the UK-origin components.

According to different Indian journalistic sources, HAL expects to receive soon a formal order from Argentina for 15 to 18 aircraft (depending on the source consulted), of which three would be two-seater trainer aircraft.

However, negotiations with the U.S. for an offer of ex-Denmark F-16A/B MLU and with China for the JF-17 Thunder block III continue (intensified from previous years), and it seems unlikely that the search for a 4th generation supersonic multi-role fighter for the FAA will be resolved in the short term.