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I think at some point Tejas will join the IAF but not in numbers it will go the same route as India’s first fighter jet the HF-24 Marut, yes India had a jet before the Tejas but with the same problems. It was underpowered and not mission capable.
At the time India had thousands of aircrafts and only inducted 147 units. This off course was a failure as a fighter aircraft.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL_HF-24_Marut
India unfortunately is a business minded country and fighters are really not good business sense in the short term. Pakistan being a security state with a militaristic narrative (some perceived some real) has a better developed defence industry.
Happy to discuss further
KV
The Marut was underpowered, but that wasnt the main problem. The main problem is that India didnt keep developing on the platform. There were several proposal programs after Marut, even one model with good engine. India itself discarded them and bought Jaguar and Mig21s killing the program.
With Tejas this isnt the case. The further developed models are being worked and sponsored. Not to mention the industry is much more developed.
Tejas does make business sense too. There are several private sector companies eatting off this and future program. Major modules like wings, tail, canopy, fuselage are coming from big firms like the TATAs to new ones like VEM tech.
Even underdeveloped subsystems, LRUs, etc. are coming from them. There is an ecosystem building around Tejas.
Pakistan doesnt have a better developed defence industry.
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