Tejas tragedy has hard lessons but it should not clip aerospace ambitions

Back in 2016, this writer contributed an oped about Tejas under the headline ‘A Chance for Asia to Pull Out the Big Guns: India Showing the Way by Building a Fighter Jet and Taking on Western Domination.’ That piece was written against the backdrop of India’s own Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas flying at the three-day Bahrain International Airshow. The Tejas fighter jet had made its international debut, and it was the first time an Indian-developed aircraft had flown in a foreign air show. Two Limited Series Production (LSP) aircraft participated, performing aerobatic manoeuvres including 8-g pulls, vertical loops, slow flypasts, and barrel rolls — moves that demonstrated India’s growing aerospace confidence.

Dubai Repercussions

Since then, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), responsible for design, development, and production of Tejas, has come a long way. The upgraded Tejas Mk1A undertook its maiden flight at HAL’s Nashik facility on October 17, 2025, marking a significant milestone. Yet, only weeks later, tragedy struck. During a demonstration at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport on Saturday, a Tejas Mk1 crashed, killing the pilot. For many spectators, it was a horrific sight to witness live in the desert skies. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has ordered a Court of Inquiry, and HAL will face searching questions about design, production, and maintenance.

This was the second crash involving Tejas. The first occurred in March 2024 near Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, when a Mark1 suffered an engine seizure, and the pilot ejected safely. The Dubai accident, however, was fatal, and its impact will go far deeper than the loss of an aircraft.
It is indeed sad news on many fronts—most of all, the loss of a pilot who could not eject in time. Tejas is a matter of national pride, and the crash has hurt many. Yet before rushing to blame HAL, the IAF, or the pilot, one must remember that major air forces worldwide have lost aircraft at air shows, from the US Thunderbirds to the Russian Knights. No aircraft should be judged solely on such incidents. That said, accountability and re-evaluation of this long-delayed fighter program are essential.

Faith and frustration

Tejas has been a long and arduous journey. The delays in development were largely due to technology denial by western powers, who imposed sanctions on India after its nuclear tests. Despite those hurdles, the project matured, and India must continue to show faith in domestic production capabilities. Tejas has already performed over 10,000 successful sorties and tests. To ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater’ would be a grave setback to Make in India initiatives in the defence sector.

HAL will now come under intense scrutiny, alongside the ministry of defence, the IAF, and the pilot’s role. Only weeks before the Dubai crash, the defence ministry had formalised a contract for 97 additional Tejas Mk1A fighters worth Rs 62,400 crore, despite supply chain challenges. HAL is constantly in the news—sometimes for achievements, sometimes for setbacks—but the govt’s support remains strong.

Global Context

Globally, defence aerospace is dominated by Western powers, particularly Europe and the USA, thanks to their robust manufacturing and R&D ecosystems. Aerospace is unforgiving, with zero tolerance for error. While western countries remain in the lead, Asian nations like India and China see export opportunities in the lucrative Middle-East market. Participation in air shows such as Bahrain and Dubai is, therefore, crucial to that strategy, and this crash should not deter HAL from doing so in the future.

For Asian buyers, acquiring western aircraft often means paying exorbitant prices. Cost-effective fighters from India or China have the potential to make a mark, but they also place immense pressure on domestic R&D and manufacturing ecosystems to deliver world-class reliability. The Tejas crash is undoubtedly a blow to India’s export ambitions, but such setbacks are part of the defence business.
One hopes this tragedy serves as a wake-up call for all stakeholders — the IAF, HAL, DRDO, and the defence ministry. Tejas remains a symbol of India’s determination to achieve self-reliance in aerospace. Its future will depend on how decisively and transparently India responds to this moment of reckoning.

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