Hindustan Times on January 13, the Cabinet Security Committee headed by Indian Prime Minister Modi approved a procurement case worth nearly 4,800 billion rupees (about 6.55 billion US dollars) on the same day to purchase 83 Indian-made Ls for the Indian Air Force.
CA “Glorious” fighter.
Indian Defense Minister Singh called it the largest defense procurement agreement for domestic equipment and “a game-changer created by India’s independent defense industry”.
In the coming years, LCA ‘Glorious’ fighters will become the main force of the Indian Air Force fighter force, which combines a large number of new technologies, many of which have never been tried by India. The localization rate of the MK-1A ‘Glorious’ fighters will increase from 50% to 60% from the previous version,” Singh said on social media.
Last March, the Ministry of Defence of India approved the purchase of 83 Shining fighter jets from Hindustan Airlines. The Indian Ministry of Defense said in a statement that the aircraft included 73 “Glorious” MK-1A fighters and 10 “Glorious” MK-1 trainers.
The order will bring the total number of “Glorious” fighters equipped by the Indian army to 123. The Indian Air Force has previously purchased 40 “Glorious” fighters and is currently certifying for “initial operating license” and “final operating license”.
The newly ordered MK-1A “Glorious” fighter has undergone a number of improvements.
The aircraft will be equipped with a digital radar alarm receiver, plug-in interference pod, active electronic sweeping array (AESE) radar, advanced over-the-horizon missile, etc.
Indian Defense Minister Singh said: “The MK-1A ‘Glorious’ is a 4+ generation fighter independently designed, developed and manufactured using the most advanced technology.
This fighter is equipped with key combat capabilities such as AESE radar, over-the-horizon missiles, electronic warfare kits and air-to-air refueling devices, which will be able to Powerful platform to meet the operational needs of the Indian Air Force.
It took 30 years for India’s “Glorious” fighter to develop and equip troops. However, after equipping, the fighter has successively exposed various problems such as insufficient performance and high failure rate, and has not been replaced and used in large quantities.
At present, India is developing the MK2 version of the “Glorious” fighter, which will enlarge the airframe and adopt a dual-engine configuration, hoping to further excavate and improve its combat capability.
