Argentina shows interest in Made in India 'Tejas' fighter aircraft

Tags: Defence International News

Argentina has shown interest to buy Tejas fighter aircraft manufactured in India under Make in India.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar acknowledged Argentina's interest in Tejas fighter aircraft and highlighted the importance of the proposal to enhance strategic cooperation of bilateral ties.

• External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Argentina Minister of Foreign Affairs Santiago Cafiero jointly presided over a Joint Commission Meeting in Buenos Aires.

• During the meeting, both sides underlined the importance of bilateral relations in defence, nuclear energy, space, pharma, science and technology, yoga, climate change and economic cooperation.

• Australia, Egypt, the United States, Indonesia and the Philippines are also interested in Tejas jets.

TEJAS fighter aircraft :

• It is an 'Indigenous Light Combat Aircraft'.

• It has been jointly developed by 'Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA)' and 'Hindustan Aeronautics Limited' (HAL).

• It is the smallest-lightweight single-engine 'Multirole Tactical Fighter Aircraft'.

• It has been designed with an aim to reduce India's dependence on Russia's MiG-21 fighter jets and move towards self-reliance in the field of national security.

• It is designed to carry a range of air-to-air, air-to-surface weapons.

• It is capable of refueling in the sky during the journey and has a maximum payload capacity of 4000 kg.

• It can achieve a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and has a range of 3,000 km.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -

Types of tejas :

1. Tejas Trainer

2. LCA Navy

3. LCA Tejas Navy MK2

4. LCA Tejas Mk-1A

Argentina :

• President - Alberto Fernández

• Capital - Buenos Aires

• Currency - Argentine peso

• Official Language -Spanish

• location - South America continent