An Indian Air Force HAL Tejas fighter jet crashed at the Dubai Airshow this morning, killing its pilot. No cause has yet been identified for the crash.
An Indian Air Force pilot was killed when his HAL Tejas fighter jet crashed during a demonstration at the Dubai Airshow on Friday, the final day of the event, which began on Monday. The aircraft crashed around 2:10 pm Dubai local time (5:10 am EST).
An investigation is already underway, and additional details will be made public as it continues.
“IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief,” the Indian Air Force said in a statement to the media. “A court of inquiry is being constituted, to ascertain the cause of the accident.”
According to spectators, the HAL Tejas fighter had been in the air for less than 10 minutes and had completed two to three laps over the Al Maktoum International Airport, when it went into a nose-dive before flattening out. The aircraft continued to lose altitude and crashed.
Video of the incident has been widely shared on social media. In one clip, the aircraft can be seen falling to the ground and then exploding into a massive fireball on impact in front of a stunned audience.
Other posts online purport to show the aircraft on the ground leaking oil before it took part in the flight demonstration—but those photos have not been independently verified as having been taken at Dubai or during the airshow.
Understanding the HAL Tejas Fighter Jet
- Year Introduced: 2015
- Number Built: ~38
- Length: 13.2 m (43.4 ft)
- Height: 4.4 m (14.4 ft)
- Wingspan: 8.2 m (26.9 ft)
- Weight (MTOW): 13,500 kg (29,762 lb)
- Engines: One GE F404-IN20 afterburning turbofan
- Top Speed: 2,220 km/h (1,380 mph) / Mach 1.8
- Combat Range: 500–800 km (300–500 mi)
- Service Ceiling: 50,000 ft
- Loadout: Eight hardpoints for air-to-air, air-to-ground, and anti-ship missiles; precision-guided munitions; one 23 mm internal cannon; 5,300 kg (11,684 lb) payload capacity
- Aircrew: 1 (two-seat trainer variant also available)
The Tejas is India’s first domestically-produced fighter aircraft. The single-engine, fourth-generation, multi-role light fighter was designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy. Development began in the 1980s as part of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program to replace the aging fleet of Russian-made Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (NATO reporting name “Fishbed”) fighters. Still, it wasn’t until early 2001 that the aircraft took its maiden flight.
Another 15 years passed until July 2016, when the Tejas finally entered service with the IAF. In a blow to HAL’s ambitions, the Indian Navy quickly rejected the aircraft because it weighed too much and produced insufficient thrust for take off from the ski-jump ramps of its aircraft carriers. Moreover, although its low cost is a selling point, the Tejas’ specifications remain unexceptional compared to top-of-the-line fourth-generation light fighters such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon.
To date, 38 of the fighter jets have been produced. The Indian government has also proposed exporting the Tejas fighter to Asian nations, highlighting its simple design and low maintenance costs as major selling points for cash-strapped militaries.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Shutterstock / WeChitra.
