Documents
India Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Tejas Mk1A
Indigenous Indian single-engine, single-seat light multirole fighter with a tailless delta-wing design, upgraded from the baseline Tejas Mk1 with AESA radar, improved EW self-protection and aerial refueling. Built by Hindustan Aeronautics for the Indian Air Force.
In service since 2024 · 1 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
1,975
km/h
3,000
km range
16,920
m ceiling
3,500
kg payload
0.98
T/W
💲 ≈ $45,000,000, Approximate quoted unit cost, Mk1A contract
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
National export licensing
Subject to India export-control approval; verify eligibility with the manufacturer.
Channel: Direct commercial / G2G
Fielded & proven
Limited · 1 operator
In service since 2024. Status: active · ~40 built.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$113M – $158M
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost, operating & support dominate over ~30 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Compatible munitions & weapons
Publicly reported weapons the Tejas Mk1A can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.
Full specifications
Performance
Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.
- Max speed
Maximum level speed. For aircraft this is at optimal altitude; for ground vehicles, top road speed. Higher means faster response and better kinematic performance.
- 1,975 km/h Stronger than 37% of fighters
- Max speed (Mach)
Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.
- 1.8 Mach Stronger than 31% of fighters
- Range
Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.
- 3,000 km Stronger than 49% of fighters
- Combat radius
Distance an aircraft can fly, complete its mission and return without refueling. Roughly a third of ferry range.
- 500 km Stronger than 12% of fighters
- Service ceiling
Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon.
- 16,920 m Stronger than 54% of fighters
- Thrust-to-weight
Engine thrust divided by loaded weight. Above 1.0 the aircraft can accelerate going straight up.
- 0.98 Stronger than 43% of fighters
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- 23 mm GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon
- Hardpoints
External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.
- 8 Stronger than 31% of fighters
- Weapons payload
Maximum ordnance weight the platform can carry. Higher means more strike capacity per sortie.
- 3,500 kg Bottom 7% of fighters
Protection
Armor, countermeasures and survivability.
- Countermeasures
Self-protection: chaff, flares, DIRCM, towed decoys, smoke dischargers, jammers.
- indigenous integrated EW suite, chaff, flares
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 13.2 m
- Wingspan
Wingtip-to-wingtip span.
- 8.2 m
- Height
Overall height. Lower profile is harder to spot and hit for ground vehicles.
- 4.4 m
- Empty weight
Weight without fuel, ammunition or crew.
- 6,560 kg
- Combat weight
Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.
- 13,500 kg
- Crew
Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.
- 1
Propulsion
Engine, power and fuel.
- Engine
Powerplant model and type.
- General Electric F404-GE-IN20 afterburning turbofan
- Engines
Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.
- 1
- Thrust
Total engine thrust (with afterburner where applicable).
- 84 kN Stronger than 30% of fighters
- Fuel capacity
Internal fuel volume.
- 2,458 L
- Propulsion type
Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…
- Turbofan
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- Elta EL/M-2052 AESA
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $45,000,000 Stronger than 61% of fighters
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 40 Stronger than 14% of fighters
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 1 Stronger than 23% of fighters
Specifications compiled from public Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
Compare with rivals
See how it stacks up
Lockheed Martin F-22A Raptor 
Dassault Aviation Rafale F4 Frequently asked questions
What is the top speed of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A has a maximum speed of 1,975 km/h.
What is the range of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A has a maximum range of 3,000 km.
What is the weapons payload of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A can carry up to 3,500 kg of weapons payload.
How much does the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A weigh? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A has a combat weight of 13,500 kg.
How many crew does the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A require? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A requires a crew of 1.
What is the main armament of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A's primary weapon is the 23 mm GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon.
What engine does the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A use? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A is powered by the General Electric F404-GE-IN20 afterburning turbofan.
What is the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A used for? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A is a fighter aircraft typically used for air superiority, multirole combat, close air support.
How many countries operate the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A is operated by 1 countries.
How much does the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A cost? +
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Tejas Mk1A has an approximate unit cost of 45,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration, treat this as directional.
Similar systems
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Tejas Mk2
Dassault Aviation
Rafale F4
Lockheed Martin
F-16C Block 70/72 Fighting Falcon
Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)