Earlier in February, India’s indigenous combat aircraft, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, was once again in the news when a fighter jet was damaged after it overshot the runway, which according to jet maker PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), was due to a minor technical glitch.
HAL had then said it was working with the Indian Air Force (IAF) for a speedy resolution.
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“As a standard operating procedure, the issue is being analysed in depth, and HAL is working closely with the IAF for a speedy resolution,” the company had said.
Now, a media report reveals that a glitch in the software of the onboard computer of the fighter jet caused the accident on February 7.
The report by The Tribune said the entire fleet of Tejas fighters in IAF inventory underwent exhaustive checks and the software glitch was identified.
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The report said HAL and IAF jointly upgraded the software and rectified the glitch. The new, upgraded software is being tried out on the fighter jet, The Tribune report said, citing sources.
The IAF test crew has been closely involved with the LCA project right from the conceptual stage till prototype testing. The first version of the aircraft was inducted into the force in 2016.
Sources added that it was not a mechanical or metallurgical failure that caused the accident in February and said that such glitches with software often happen.
The accident in February was the third such incident involving LCA Tejas. The previous accident happened in during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show in November 2025, killing the pilot.
