Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facilities in Bengaluru on November 25, 2023, after flying in a Tejas twin-seater. He viewed the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas final assembly line and received a briefing on the aircraft, HAL’s production facilities and technology work, according to the Ministry of Defence’s account of the visit.
What happened during Modi’s HAL visit?
The visit followed Modi’s maiden sortie in an indigenously designed and developed Tejas twin-seater. At HAL’s Bengaluru facility, he saw the LCA Tejas final assembly line and was briefed on the aircraft’s capabilities and the company’s production facilities and technology work. The Ministry of Defence said he appreciated both the aircraft and HAL’s production facilities.
In a statement quoted in the Ministry’s release, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the Tejas as an indigenously designed and developed multirole light combat aircraft. HAL chairman and managing director C. B. Ananthakrishnan thanked the Prime Minister for his support and said the visit encouraged the company’s work toward self-reliance in aerospace and defence.
What aircraft did HAL show the Prime Minister?
Tejas fighter
The Ministry’s November 2023 account described the Tejas as a lightweight, all-weather multirole aircraft that was operationally deployed with the Indian Air Force at the time. It said the aircraft was then powered by a GE 404 engine.
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The briefing also discussed the planned LCA Mk II, which the release said was intended to use a GE 414 engine. It reported an 80% transfer-of-technology arrangement in a signed memorandum of understanding. Those details describe plans and an arrangement reported in November 2023, not a verified statement of the programme’s current status.
Tejas Mk1A programme
The release said production was underway against an order for 83 Mk1A aircraft while design and development continued. It described the variant’s planned or stated capabilities as including an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, beyond-visual-range missile capability, an electronic-warfare suite, advanced avionics and maintenance improvements. At the time, deliveries were planned to begin in February 2024; that was a forecast, not confirmation of subsequent delivery status.
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Prachand, Rudra and Light Utility Helicopters
HAL also showcased the Light Combat Helicopter Prachand, the Advanced Light Helicopter-WSI Rudra and Light Utility Helicopters. The Ministry’s report said Prachand could fly up to 6 km altitude and described its use for high-altitude operations in Ladakh and the eastern Himalayan sectors.
For Rudra, the briefing highlighted its electronic-warfare system, armament, troop-carrying capability and gun-to-target slew capability. These are capabilities as presented in the Ministry’s account; the release was not an independent performance assessment.
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What did the visit reveal about HAL’s manufacturing work?
The 2023 release said flight controls, fuel systems, hydraulics, air-conditioning, mission systems and display systems for Tejas had been indigenised. It also reported HAL’s target of taking indigenous content beyond 70% within the next three to four years. That was a forward-looking target stated at the time, not evidence that the target was later achieved.
A separate Ministry of Defence account of a July 15, 2024 visit described HAL’s broader work as spanning products, repair and overhaul, aircraft upgrades, avionics, exports, engine production, manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, indigenisation measures and support to ISRO. This later overview gives context for HAL’s range of activities; it does not establish the outcome of any specific plan mentioned during Modi’s 2023 visit. See the Ministry’s 2024 account.
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How to understand the later delivery announcement
A Ministry of Defence release dated September 18, 2026, reported HAL handovers of two Tejas FOC twin-seater trainers and three HTT 40 basic trainers to the Indian Air Force, as well as four Dhruv NG helicopters to Pawan Hans. Those were later handovers, not events from the 2023 visit. The announcement can be read in the Ministry’s 2026 release.
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