Tejas may skip Vayu Shakti exercise

THe Tejas illume armed combat aircraft Mk-1, lately mired in a technological incident on the ground at a frontline fighter base, did not take part in the full dress rehearsal of a major Indian Air Force exercise, Vayu Shakti, held at Pokhran near Jaisalmer on Tuesday, people aware of the matter said.It is unlikely to take part in the main event on February 27 either, the people said.The LCA Mk-1 was earlier on the list of aircraft scheduled to showcase the IAF’s combat prowess during the exercise. An IAF spokesperson wasn’t immediately available for comments.The locally produced fighter likely missed the action as the IAF is conducting safety checks on its Tejas fleet following the February 7 incident, the people said. The IAF inducted its first LCA Mk-1 in July 2016 and currently operates two squadrons (a squadron has 16 to 18 planes).The air force had earlier said the exercise would involve 77 fighter jets, 43 helicopters, eight transport planes, remotely piloted aircraft, counter-unmanned aerial systems and surface-to-air guided weapons. Full spectrum operations by fighter, transport and helicopter platforms including Tejas, Rafale, Jaguar, Mirage-2000, Sukhoi- 30MKI, MiG-29, Hawk, C-130J, C-295, C-17, Chetak, ALH MK-IV, Mi-17 IV, LCH, Apache, Chinook and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) will be executed during the exercise, the IAF said on February 11.State-owned plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Monday said that the LCA Mk-1 was recently involved in a technical incident on the ground, and that the issue was being examined closely. The clarification followed media reports claiming a jet had crashed at a frontline airbase. “There has been no reported crash of the LCA Tejas. The event in question was a minor technical incident on the ground,” it said in a statement.The development that came months after an IAF pilot was killed last November after an LCA Mk-1 crashed during a demonstration flight at the Dubai airshow. That was the second crash involving the India-built single-engine fighter jet.Earlier, a Tejas fighter jet had crashed near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in March 2024, minutes after participating in a tri-services exercise that sought to demonstrate the strides India has made towards self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector. The pilot ejected safely at the time.The latest incident comes at a time when the IAF is looking at inducting an advanced variant of the plane, the LCA Mk-1A. The IAF has so far placed two separate orders for a total of 180 LCA Mk-1As with a combined value of ₹1.1 lakh crore to shore up its fighter fleet. The first contract for 83 jets was inked in February 2021, followed by a second one for 97 fighters in September 2025.To be sure, none of the fighters ordered five years back has been delivered yet.