scorecardresearch
Friday, March 29, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomeDefenceIndia looking at Tejas exports at Rs 309 crore per aircraft, HAL...

India looking at Tejas exports at Rs 309 crore per aircraft, HAL chairman says

R. Madhavan, chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, says countries from Southeast Asia and the Middle East have shown interest in Tejas fighters.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

Bengaluru: India is actively scouting for export potential for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at a vanilla price of just Rs 309 crore per aircraft, as countries from Southeast Asia and the Middle East have evinced interest, R. Madhavan, chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), said at Aero India being held in Bengaluru.

Responding to a query from ThePrint on the export potential and the costing, Madhavan said while the contract cost for the 83 Tejas fighters is about Rs 48,000 crore, it will come down to around Rs 36,000 crore if one takes away the tax component and escalation in foreign exchange.

“Some are calculating the price of the Tejas MK1 A based on the Rs 48,000 (crore) bill. This is wrong. If one takes out the taxes and duty, besides foreign exchange increase, the cost of the contract comes down to about Rs 36,000 core. Actually, the total order cost for the 83 LCA is about Rs 25,150 crore,” he said.

Explaining the break-up, Madhavan said the taxes and customs work out to be around Rs 9,200 crore, and another Rs 11,000 crore is for spares, ground equipment, training aides and manuals, among others.

“Cost per aircraft is Rs 309 crore. The trainer will cost Rs 280 crore. This is a very competitive price. Other countries have found this cost and have realised that it is the cheapest offer for a four-and-a-half generation aircraft,” he said.

“This (Rs 309 crore) is the cost at which we will be exporting. There would be a little bit of extra cost because the bases will be abroad,” Madhavan added.


Also read: What the Tejas deal means for IAF, and India’s chequered history with indigenous fighters


Tejas performance

The main challenger for the Tejas Mark 1A, in terms of exports, is the joint Sino-Pak product, JF-17.

Defence officials, however, argued that the Tejas has superior performance since it has a better engine, radar system and electronic warfare suit, besides an edge in weaponry like the Beyond Visual Range missiles.

Refusing to name countries that have shown interest, Madhavan said they are from Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

Sources in the defence establishment, however, said half a dozen countries, including Sri Lanka and Egypt, have evinced interest in the aircraft.

Export targets

Asked whether HAL has sought the government’s waiver on high taxes to enable exports, a senior HAL official said: “Most of the tax are output tax, which will not be applicable on exports.”

HAL is looking at setting up logistics facilities in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Sri Lanka to woo the countries to buy Tejas and military helicopters.

This is because having logistics facilities is key to selling the products and ensuring after-sales services.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last year set a defence export target of $5 billion in the next five years.


Also read: Tejas, a tale of India’s nascent aerospace system with a happy ending


 

Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

4 COMMENTS

  1. The delivery schedule for this four and half generation aircrafts is very poor .Hal is taking in air .We are in emergency mode and just see how many aircrafts they delivered last year . They just don’t have the concepts to deal with production in emergencies. They just don’t understand what is a emergency and war like situation . They just don’t work. Indegenisation levels are still very poor for aircraft industry . They will deliver when sixth generation aircraft will be arriving or would have arrived Yet they are not prepared to ramp up the production facilities in what is required for meeting indigenous demands . May be Government is of the view that S400 , missiles & nukes will secure the sky’s and shall reduce the pressure on IAF on aircraft deficit reining today .

  2. The company will be late by years in delivery termin, claims of quality which the below cost price will be unable to satisfy.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular