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India Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Tejas Mk1A
Indigenous Indian single-engine, single-seat light multirole fighter with a tailless delta-wing design, upgraded from the baseline Tejas Mk1 with AESA radar, improved EW self-protection and aerial refueling. Built by Hindustan Aeronautics for the Indian Air Force.
In service since 2024 · 1 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
1,975
km/h
3,000
km range
16,920
m ceiling
3,500
kg payload
0.98
T/W
💲 ≈ $45,000,000 — Approximate quoted unit cost, Mk1A contract
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
National export licensing
Subject to India export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.
Channel: Direct commercial / G2G
Fielded & proven
Limited · 1 operator
In service since 2024. Status: active · ~40 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$113M – $158M
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost — operating & support dominate over ~30 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Performance
Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.
- Max speed
Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.
- 1,975 km/h Stronger than 37% of fighters
- Max speed (Mach)
Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.
- 1.8 Mach Stronger than 31% of fighters
- Range
Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.
- 3,000 km Stronger than 49% of fighters
- Combat radius
Distance an aircraft can fly, complete its mission and return without refueling. Roughly a third of ferry range.
- 500 km Stronger than 12% of fighters
- Service ceiling
Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon.
- 16,920 m Stronger than 54% of fighters
- Thrust-to-weight
Engine thrust divided by loaded weight. Above 1.0 the aircraft can accelerate going straight up.
- 0.98 Stronger than 43% of fighters
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- 23 mm GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon
- Hardpoints
External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.
- 8 Stronger than 31% of fighters
- Weapons payload
Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie.
- 3,500 kg Bottom 7% of fighters
Protection
Armor, countermeasures and survivability.
- Countermeasures
Self-protection: chaff, flares, DIRCM, towed decoys, smoke dischargers, jammers.
- indigenous integrated EW suite, chaff, flares
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 13.2 m
- Wingspan
Wingtip-to-wingtip span.
- 8.2 m
- Height
Overall height. Lower profile is harder to spot and hit for ground vehicles.
- 4.4 m
- Empty weight
Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.
- 6,560 kg
- Combat weight
Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.
- 13,500 kg
- Crew
Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.
- 1
Propulsion
Engine, power and fuel.
- Engine
Powerplant model and type.
- General Electric F404-GE-IN20 afterburning turbofan
- Engines
Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.
- 1
- Thrust
Total engine thrust (with afterburner where applicable).
- 84 kN Stronger than 30% of fighters
- Fuel capacity
Internal fuel volume.
- 2,458 L
- Propulsion type
Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…
- Turbofan
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- Elta EL/M-2052 AESA
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $45,000,000 Stronger than 61% of fighters
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 40 Stronger than 14% of fighters
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 1 Stronger than 23% of fighters
Specifications compiled from public Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
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What is the top speed of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A has a maximum speed of 1,975 km/h.
What is the range of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A has a maximum range of 3,000 km.
What is the weapons payload of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A can carry up to 3,500 kg of weapons payload.
How much does the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A weigh? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A has a combat weight of 13,500 kg.
How many crew does the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A require? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A requires a crew of 1.
What is the main armament of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A's primary weapon is the 23 mm GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon.
What engine does the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A use? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A is powered by the General Electric F404-GE-IN20 afterburning turbofan.
What is the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A used for? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A is a fighter aircraft typically used for air superiority, multirole combat, close air support.
How many countries operate the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A is operated by 1 countries.
How much does the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A cost? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A has an approximate unit cost of 45,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration — treat this as directional.
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