An 18-minute test sortie conducted at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) facility in Bengaluru marked a significant milestone in strengthening the Indian Air Force (IAF) with a next-generation, indigenously built fighter jet. Piloted by Group Captain K.K. Venugopal (Retd), the flight featured the Tejas Mk1A—an advanced iteration of the Tejas Mk1 and India’s second domestically developed fighter aircraft. As the country’s first supersonic lightweight fighter, the Tejas Mk1A is designed to replace the IAF’s aging fleet of MiG-21s, Mirage 2000s, MiG-29s, and SEPECAT Jaguars.
