27 years, 3000% cost hike later, Tejas takes off

Tejas gets Initial Operational Clearance

• The LCA project has spent Rs.12,000 crore of the Rs.25,000 crore sanctioned for developing the Mark II and Naval variant, he said, adding that it was estimated that the country needed 200 Tejas aircraft.
• The first of two IOC-configured 'Tejas' will be handed over to the IAF by March this year, while another two will be given towards the end of the year. These will be part of the consignment of 20 aircraft that the IAF ordered. The rest will be delivered progressively till the end of 2013.
• The Final Operational Clearance (FOC) is expected to take two years, and Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik said the DRDO should improve some aspects like all weather clearance as agreed.
• The single-engine LCA is estimated to cost between Rs.180-200 crore apiece, with an additional Rs.10 crore for the trainer version with the second seat. 

• The fighter is still only around 60% indigenous despite being 27 years in the making. It, for example, is powered by American GE engines, with the indigenous Kaveri engine failing to pass muster despite Rs 2,839 crore being spent on it since 1989.