Tejas fighter jet crashes at Dubai Air Show: All about India's home-built fighter aircraft

A fighter jet Tejas of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed during the Dubai Air Show on Friday. The Pilot onbaord the aircraft sustained fatal injuries, said the IAF in a statement.

A witness said the fighter jet was flying at a low altitude at around 2:15 pm before coming down in ball of fire. Footage from the site showed black smoke rising from the crash site.

This is the second known crash of the fighter jet, which is powered by General Electric engines. The first crash was during an exercise in India in 2024.


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What is Tejas fighter jet?

The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Tejas project began development in the 1980s as the Indian Air Force sought a light fighter to replace its fleet of aging Soviet-era MiG-21s. Changing requirements and other issues complicated the project, and the first production aircraft didn’t take flight until the early 2000s. It entered IAF service in 2015.

ALSO READ: Tejas fighter jet crashes at Dubai Air Show

The single-engine jet is expected to bolster India’s depleted fighter fleet as China expands its military presence in South Asia, including by strengthening defence ties with Pakistan.

In September, India’s Defense Ministry signed a contract with HAL, to procure 97 Tejas jets for the air force. Deliveries are expected to begin in 2027.

The Indian government also signed a deal with HAL in 2021 for 83 Tejas aircraft. Deliveries, expected last year, have been delayed largely because of shortages of engines that must be imported from the United States.

On Thursday, the Press Information Bureau rejected some social media claims alleging that a Tejas aircraft had experienced an oil leak while on display at the air show. In a statement on X, it called the posts “false” and said they were attempts to undermine the “fighter’s proven technical reliability with baseless propaganda.”It was unclear whether the aircraft in question was the one that crashed on Friday.