Tejas jet suffers damage to airframe while landing at frontline air base

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas light combat aircraft sustained major damage to its airframe, after it overshot the runway at a frontline airbase following a suspected brake failure earlier this month, authoritative sources said on Sunday (February 22).

The pilot of the aircraft ejected safely, they said. It is learnt that the aircraft was returning to the base after carrying out a training sortie. There was no official word from the IAF on the accident that took place on February 7.

Entire fleet grounded

Following the incident, the IAF grounded the entire fleet of around 30 single-seat Tejas jets to carry out an extensive technical scrutiny, the sources said. It was the third accident involving the Tejas jets. The first one took place in March 2024, when a Tejas jet crashed near Jaisalmer.

Also read: HAL calls Tejas crash an ‘isolated incident’, says it won’t impact deliveries

The second incident took place in November 2025, when a Tejas jet crashed during an aerial display at the Dubai Airshow.

The latest accident comes at a time when Tejas maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has missed several deadlines to supply the Tejas Mark 1A variant of the aircraft to the IAF.

Delivery delays

In February 2021, the defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL for the procurement of 83 Tejas Mk-1A jets for the IAF. The delivery of the jets is facing delays primarily due to GE Aerospace missing several deadlines for the supply of its aero engines to power the jets.

The defence ministry in September last year sealed another deal worth Rs 62,370 crore with HAL to procure 97 Tejas MK-1A light combat aircraft for the IAF.

Multi-role fighter aircraft

Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft capable of operating in high-threat air environments.

It has been designed to undertake air defence, maritime reconnaissance and strike roles.

(With agency inputs)