On Friday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the country suffered a great loss, and India's defence export ambitions faced a temporary setback when a home-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas crashed while performing a complex, low-altitude barrel roll during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show, resulting in the death of the fighter pilot.
Even as a court of inquiry is being constituted by the IAF to ascertain the cause of the accident, and the nation mourned the death of Wing Commander Namansh Syal, there have been many who were quick to jump to conclusions and even come up with conspiracy theories.
"The reasons could be mechanical. The reason could be the malfunction of the fly-by-wire or any control surface. The sabotage angle would also be looked at by the court of inquiry team," said Air Marshal Sanjeev Kapoor (Retd), and warned the armchair experts that "At this stage, to speculate and to say what could have gone wrong is incorrect, and to have lost a brother in arms is very sad..."
Initiated in the 1980s by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to replace the ageing MiG-21 fleet of the IAF, the Tejas fighter jet was formally declared fit to fly in 2011. The first version of this tailless fighter with a composite airframe was inducted into the IAF in 2016.
Since its induction, the IAF raised two squadrons of Tejas fighter jets: No. 45 Squadron 'Flying Daggers' and No. 18 Squadron 'Flying Bullets', both based out of Sulur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu. The IAF will induct more Tejas jets in the coming years as the defence ministry has signed two major contracts for the aircraft in recent years— in 2021 for 83 Tejas Mk1A jets and in September 2025 for an additional 97 Tejas Mk1A jets (68 fighters and 29 twin-seat trainers).
When fighters fail
Can a crash redefine the success of an aircraft project? Detractors have been quick to judge and dismiss LCA Tejas and HAL—which can arguably be blamed for slow, delayed delivery of the fighter jets to the force even as IAF has been facing a severe shortage of fighter jets—forgetting that even the best of systems fail, and the best of men, even those with years of training and experience, can make mistakes.
Aviation aerobatics operate at the razor's edge and require extreme skill, courage, and precision. These manoeuvres are not mere stunts, but acts of mastery performed by highly skilled and experienced pilots who take immense personal risks. Wing Commander Syal was one such brave pilot; he had extensive experience flying MiG-21 and Sukhoi Su-30 MKI aircraft prior to moving on to master Tejas.
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Media reports suggest that HAL Tejas has clocked over 10,000 flying hours, with just two crashes since its first flight in 2011. The first accident involving the Tejas occurred in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan in March 2024. The aircraft had crashed near a residential colony in Jaisalmer while returning from a tri-services military exercise, 'Bharat Shakti', in the Pokhran desert on March 12, 2024. The pilot ejected safely then. With over 10,000 flying hours and just two accidents in over two decades, Tejas still remains a resilient fighter jet.
It is important to understand that the best of systems are still prone to error, and the best of people still have bad days. In the past seven years, there have been as many as 12 US F-35 fighter crashes. Multiple variants of the F-35, including the F-35A, B, and C, built by American defence major Lockheed Martin, have crashed due to various reasons ranging from technical faults and pilot error to ice-contaminated hydraulic fluid. In 2019, Russia's most advanced aircraft, the Su-57, crashed in the Far East Khabarovsk Krai region during a test flight. These are some of the instances of the most advanced fighters still facing operational setbacks.
Social media handles from Pakistan had been in overdrive ever since the Tejas fighters landed in Dubai for the airshow. Initially, it was claims of "oil leakage" which the Indian side refuted. After the tragedy involving Tejas unfolded, many social media handles continued to spew venom, perhaps forgetting that the JF-17 Thunder fighter jet of Pakistan, which it co-developed with China, has faced at least five confirmed crashes since its introduction into service.
Lesson from Sukhoi-30MKI
In 1999, at the prestigious Paris Air Show, a Sukhoi-30MKI multirole fighter crashed during the flight display. According to a report in Jamestown, the crew members ejected safely as the tail section of the aircraft burst into flames. India, which had signed a deal for 40 multirole aircraft in 1996, received eight basic Su-30 aircraft in 1998, and the Su-30MKI being showcased in Paris was an upgraded variant.
Despite the accident at the Paris Air Show, the IAF began inducting the Sukhoi Su-30MKI in 2002, and the aircraft has been the mainstay of the IAF's combat fleet ever since.
While such high-profile accidents, such as the one involving LCA Tejas, may raise concerns about the safety and reliability of the aircraft, they do not automatically derail export ambitions, as evidenced by the export orders for US F-35, or the most recent export of Su-75 to a ‘mystery client’.
The transparency in the investigation into the incident, technical fixes, and continued demonstration of the aircraft’s capabilities will ensure that LCA Tejas will still be seen by prospective international buyers as a cost-effective, modern 4.5-generation light combat aircraft.
