The first centre fuselage assembly for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A was handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) by VEM Technologies on May 30, 2025. The handover took place in Hyderabad and represents a key step in establishing an additional production line for the Tejas Mk1A aircraft.
According to HAL, this marks the first time a major sub-assembly for the LCA Tejas has been manufactured by a private Indian company. The new line, supported by VEM Technologies, will function alongside the existing lines in HAL-Bengaluru and HAL-Nashik. HAL stated that the inclusion of major sub-assemblies would contribute to increased production and timely deliveries to the Indian Air Force.
HAL has supported multiple private partners with technical resources such as jigs, fixtures, tools, and know-how. These include L&T, Alpha Tocol, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), VEM Technologies, and Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW), which are involved in the manufacture of centre fuselages, wings, air intakes, and other components.
The LCA Tejas Division has already received various structural modules including air intake assemblies, rear fuselage assemblies, loom assemblies, and fin and rudder assemblies in the Mk1A configuration.
HAL’s outsourcing model involves more than 6,300 Indian vendors, including 2,448 MSMEs. In the past three years, the company placed orders worth INR 13,763 crore with Indian suppliers.
“Security and sovereignty of the country are paramount and cannot be achieved without own manufacturing and supply of spare parts which could meet the requirements of the Armed Forces,” said Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary (Defence Production).
Based in Bengaluru, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is a state-owned aerospace and defence company involved in the design, development, and manufacture of aircraft, helicopters, engines, and related systems. The company also provides support and maintenance services for a range of military and civil aviation platforms.
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