Nashik, October 19: India’s state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Friday inaugurated a new production line for its Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1A at its Nashik facility, boosting its capacity to produce up to 24 fighter jets annually, the Defence Ministry said.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who flagged off the first Tejas Mk1A aircraft manufactured at the unit, also inaugurated a second production line for the Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) aircraft. Singh described the new facilities as symbols of India’s growing self-reliance in defence manufacturing and examples of successful collaboration between government, industry, and academia.
“HAL’s Tejas and HTT-40 production lines are proof that no challenge is too big when faced together,” Singh said at the inauguration ceremony.
Highlighting India’s progress in domestic defence manufacturing, Singh said the country, which once imported 65–70% of its military hardware, now produces nearly 65% of its requirements locally. “Our goal is to increase this to 100% in the near future,” he said.
The minister credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for reforms that reduced import dependency and encouraged private participation in defence production. “Earlier, defence manufacturing was largely limited to public enterprises, with little focus on innovation and advanced technology,” he said.
Praising HAL’s contributions, Singh called the company the “backbone of India’s defence ecosystem,” citing its support for the now-decommissioned MiG-21 fleet and its key role in Operation Sindoor, where the Nashik division integrated the BrahMos missile with Su-30 fighter jets used in counterterrorism strikes.
“HAL Nashik’s six-decade journey — from MiG-21 and MiG-27 production to Su-30 assembly — stands as a glowing example of India’s capability to design, produce, and sustain complex defence systems,” Singh added. The Tejas Mk1A is a single-engine, multirole fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency and manufactured by HAL to replace India’s ageing MiG series aircraft and strengthen the Indian Air Force’s indigenous fleet.
