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IAF chief flies his last sortie in Tejas fighter
Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Sunday flew the Tejas light combat aircraft from Jodhpur airbase, the Indian Air Force chief’s last flight before he retires on October 31, officials aware of the matter said
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Air Chief Marshal AP Singh on Sunday flew the Tejas light combat aircraft from Jodhpur airbase, the Indian Air Force chief’s last flight before he retires on October 31, officials aware of the matter said.
The sortie during multilateral combat exercise Tarang Shakti also turned the spotlight on the LCA’s latest Mk-1A variant, which represents the next chapter in India’s homegrown fighter story, officials said.
The LCA Mk-1A is finally nearing induction into the IAF after missing several deadlines. Both the IAF and state-run aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) are confident the locally built, single-engine fighter will enter service by year-end.
The aircraft that the Chief of Air Staff flew is the LCA’s first variant — the Mk-1. The air force currently operates 30 LCA Mk-1 fighters and eight trainer aircraft. These are in the initial operational clearance (IOC) and the more advanced final operational clearance (FOC) configurations — the first variants of LCA.
It is among the 150 Indian and foreign aircraft that participated in Tarang Shakti, which features eight air forces and 32 observer nations and concludes on Monday. The aircraft have flown more than 600 sorties, logging around 800 flying hours, officials added.
Foreign aircraft participating in the exercise included F-35s, F-16s, Rafales, A400Ms, A330 MRTT (multi-role tanker transport) KC-135s, C-130s, and other specialised platforms. These operated alongside the IAF’s Sukhoi-30s, Rafales, Jaguars, Mirage-2000s, MiG-29s, LCA Mk-1s, Mi-35s, Mi-17s and IL-78 refuellers.
The IAF has placed two orders for 180 Mk-1A fighter jets worth a combined ₹1.1 lakh crore. The first contract for 83 aircraft was signed in February 2021, followed by a second one for 97 fighters in September 2025. The deliveries, likely to begin in December, are under the first contract. The first Mk-1A aircraft, ordered in 2021, was due for delivery in March 2024. That deadline was missed due to a combination of factors, including US firm GE Aerospace’s inability to supply the F404-IN20 engines on time and delays in securing key certifications.
