By A Correspondent
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated with HAL statement on February 23, 2026, at 15:00 Hours in the last three paragraphs.)
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has lost one more of it Tejas Mk1 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in a freak accident earlier this month that went unreported. This is the third Tejas aircraft crash since the jets were inducted into the air force about a decade ago.
This third Tejas crash has forced the IAF to order “extensive” inspections of the entire fleet of LCAs currently in service, even as an inquiry was ordered into the accident, Indian media reports said.
The Tejas crash took place at a key air base of the IAF that is home for the squadron operating the aircraft while the jet was on a landing approach after a training sortie, the report said.
The Tejas Mk1 aircraft, part of the 32 single-engine jets delivered by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to IAF, was damaged beyond repair in the crash but the pilot ejected to safety without any serious injuries.
The IAF had operationalised two squadrons with these 32 aircraft, as part of the 40 jets ordered in 2016. Of these jets ordered, 20 were in the Initial Operational Clearance and another 20 in the Final Operational Clearance configurations.
Even among these 40, HAL is yet to deliver two twin-engine trainer Tejas jets to the IAF, an issue frequently raised by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal A. P. Singh in his recent media interactions.
These apart, the IAF has ordered 180 Tejas Mk1A aircraft from HAL in two tranches of 83 jets in 2021 and another 97 in 2025, and is awaiting delivery of the first set of the Mk1A aircraft for over a year now, with deadlines for delivery pushed to future dates frequently.
Only earlier this month, the IAF had agreed to a Defence Ministry suggestion to provide “exemptions” from the contractual obligations of HAL on some of the technologies to be integrated on the Mk1A jets to be delivered from April 2026, but without compromising on the mandatory capabilities that HAL agreed to along with the DRDO lab Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
Tejas Mk1, inducted into the IAF squadrons in 2016, had an unblemished, accident-free record for eight years till March 2024, when the first of these jets crash while returning to base after a fire power demonstration at the Pokhran ranges near Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. The pilot had then ejected to safety like in the latest crash.
The more damaging second air crash of Tejas took place in November 2025 on an international stage at the Dubai Air Show. The Tejas jet participating in the flying display at the Dubai Air Show could not recover from a very dangerous and difficult roll during flight over the Dubai skies, crashing soon after, killing an ace Tejas pilot.
The Dubai Air Show crash not only resulted in the loss of both the aircraft and the pilot, but also the image of India’s defence industrial base. The Dubai crash also crashed India’s efforts to pitch the Tejas aircraft for exports to friendly foreign nations, damaging Brand India in the lucrative arms market.
HAL Admits Incident, Claims Technical Issue in Tejas
HAL, in a statement on February 23, 2026, acknowledged the recent media reports on the LCA Tejas “incident” and provided what it called a “factual clarification.”
“There has been no reported crash of the LCA Tejas. The event in question was a minor technical incident on ground. LCA Tejas maintains one of the world’s best safety records among contemporary fighter aircraft,” the statement said.
“As a standard operating procedure, the issue is being analysed in depth and HAL is working closely with the Indian Air Force (IAF) for a speedy resolution,” it added, without information if the entire Tejas fleet was grounded for thorough inspections or the fate of the seasoned pilot, who was injured in the incident.
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