Tejas fighter jet cost: Made-in-India aircraft costs less than half of Rafale, F-16, Eurofighter typhoon and China’s Chengdu J-20

In a tragic incident, an Indian Air Force Tejas fighter jet crashed during the Dubai Air Show 2025 earlier today, resulting in the death of its pilot. This marks the second crash involving the Made-in-India fighter aircraft — the first occurred in Rajasthan in 2024.

“An IAF Tejas aircraft met with an accident during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show today. The pilot suffered fatal injuries. The IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief. A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident,” the Air Force said in a statement.

According to local media reports, the aircraft went down around 2:10 pm (local time) while performing in front of a large audience.




The incident has once again brought the Tejas programme under scrutiny.

Cost of Tejas Fighter Jet

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The Mk-1A variant is an indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured 4.5-generation fighter aircraft. It features state-of-the-art capabilities including an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles, an Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, and Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR).

In August this year, the Centre approved the procurement of 97 Tejas Mk-1A jets for the Indian Air Force at a cost of ₹62,000 crore — which translates to about ₹640 crore or USD 70–75 million per aircraft.

Earlier in 2021, the Defence Ministry had placed an order for 83 Mk-1A jets worth around ₹48,000 crore, pricing each at approximately ₹578 crore.

This makes the Tejas significantly more economical compared to many other fighter jets globally.

For example, estimates suggest that each India-specific Rafale costs over ₹1,300 crore.

Globally, the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is considered the costliest fighter jet, priced at around USD 143 million per unit, followed by the Rafale at USD 125 million. The Eurofighter Typhoon is estimated at about USD 117 million, while China’s Chengdu J-20 costs roughly USD 110 million.