In a tragic incident, an indigenously developed Tejas aircraft of the Indian Air Force crashed at the Dubai Airshow 2025 on Friday. The IAF pilot flying the aircraft did not survive the crash.
The IAF said in a statement that it regrets the loss of life and is setting up an inquiry to probe the cause of the accident.
“An IAF Tejas aircraft met with an accident during an aerial display at Dubai Air Show, today. The pilot sustained fatal injuries in the accident. IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief. A court of inquiry is being constituted, to ascertain the cause of the accident,” the Indian Air Force posted on its X account.
The Tejas aircraft crashed during a demonstration at the five-day-long Dubai Airshow, which was set to conclude today. The combat jet manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) crashed around 2:10 pm local time (3:40 pm IST) in front of the crowd.
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Videos of the incident showed black smoke rising over the Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central.
LCA Tejas – 4.5 generation aircraft
According to the HAL, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is a 4.5 generation, all-weather and multi-role fighter aircraft. Tejas, as a multi-role aircraft, can undertake offensive air support, close combat and ground attack with ease. The fighter jet is also capable of undertaking ground maritime operations.
Tejas is currently being manufactured for both the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. As per the HAL website, there are different variants of the aircraft that are under production and development. These include:
- Single-seater fighter jet for the Air Force
- Single-seater fighter for the Navy
- Twin-seater trainer aircraft for the Air Force
- Twin-seater trainer version for the Navy
It may also be noted that LCA Mk1A is the most advanced version of the LCA Tejas aircraft. The aircraft is “equipped with AESA Radar, EW suite consisting of radar warning and self-protection jamming, Digital Map Generator (DMG), Smart Multi-function Displays (SMFD), Combined Interrogator and Transponder (CIT), Advanced Radio Altimeter and other advanced features”.
The plane has the following dimensions: 13.2m x 8.2m x 4.4m. It has a maximum takeoff mass of 13,500 kgs and can fly up to an altitude of 50,000 feet. It can fly at a maximum speed of 1.6 Mach.
The LCA Tejas is further built to fire a variety of weapons, including the Long Range BVR & WVR missiles, bombs etc with required precision and accuracy.
Brief History of Tejas
The aircraft was designed and built under the LCA or Light Combat Aircraft programme, first set up in 1983 by the Government of India.
The plane’s design was finalised in 1990 and its first flight took off on January 4, 2001. The first LCA aircraft, dubbed Technology Demonstrator or TD-1, was flown by Wing Commander Rajiv Kothiyal.
The maiden flight of the prototype aircraft, PV-1 (prototype vehicle), took place in 2003 and the LCA was officially renamed ‘Tejas’ by the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
The indigenously-built aircraft received initial operational clearance in January 2011 and final operational clearance in 2019.
Tejas was first inducted into the Indian Air Force in July 2016 when two planes were handed over to the force. The LCA was inducted into the No. 45 Squadron, the ‘Flying Daggers’.
Earlier this year, in August, the Government of India approved the purchase of 97 LCA Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets for the Indian Air Force, in a big boost to Make in India.