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India's homegrown Tejas fighter jet crashes at Dubai airshow, killing pilot [Update@ Post#111]

India’s pilots are as useless as they come, India should start buying jets etc from china.. good quality stuff next day delivery garunteed.

And Pakistan should start buying Indian missiles with Precision strike capability. Oh wait, they’re free for you already. Delivery in 5 mins.
 
India’s pilots are as useless as they come, India should start buying jets etc from china.. good quality stuff next day delivery garunteed.

Rafael is a great machine, superior to many Chinese made jets, it won’t make a difference.
 

Tejas crash dampens export hopes for Indian fighter jet​


The crash of India's Tejas fighter in front of global arms buyers at the Dubai Airshow is the latest blow to a key national trophy, leaving the jet reliant on Indian military orders to sustain its role as a showcase of home-built defence technology.

The cause of Friday's crash was not immediately known but it capped a week of jockeying for influence at the event, attended by India's arch-rival Pakistan six months after the neighbouring foes faced off in the world's largest air battle in decades.


Such a public loss will inevitably overshadow India's efforts to establish the jet abroad after a painstaking development over four decades, experts said, as India paid tribute to Wing Commander Namansh Syal who died in the crash.

CRASH AT SHOWCASE EVENT IN DUBAI

"The imagery is brutal," said Douglas A. Birkey, executive director of the U.S.-based Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, referring to the history of crashes at air shows where nations and industries seek to tout major national achievements.

"A crash sends quite the opposite signal: a dramatic failure," he said, adding however that while the Tejas would suffer negative publicity, it would most likely regain momentum.


Dubai is the world's third-largest air show after Paris and Britain's Farnborough, and accidents at such events have become increasingly rare.

In 1999, a Russian Sukhoi Su-30 crashed after touching the ground during a manoeuvre at the Paris Airshow, and a Soviet MiG-29 crashed at the same event a decade earlier. All crew ejected safely and India went on to place orders for both jets.

Fighter sales "are driven by high order political realities, which supersede a one-off incident," said Birkey.

POWERED BY GE ENGINES


The Tejas programme began in the 1980s as India sought to replace vintage Soviet-origin MiG-21s, the last of which retired as recently as September after numerous extensions due to slow Tejas deliveries by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HIAE.NS).

The state-owned company has 180 of the advanced Mk-1A variant on order domestically but is yet to begin deliveries due to engine supply chain issues at GE Aerospace.

A former HAL executive who left the company recently said the crash in Dubai "rules out exports for now".

Target markets included Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and HAL also opened an office in Malaysia in 2023.

"The focus for the coming years would be on boosting production of the fighter for domestic use," the former executive said, requesting anonymity.

But the Indian Air Force is worried about its shrinking fighter squadrons, which have fallen to 29 from an approved strength of 42, with early variants of the MiG-29, Anglo-French Jaguar and French Mirage 2000 set to retire in coming years.

"The Tejas was supposed to be their replacement," an IAF officer said. "But it is facing production issues".

As an alternative, India is considering off-the-shelf purchases to fill immediate gaps, with options including more French Rafales, two Indian defence officials said, adding that India still plans to add to about 40 Tejas already in service.

India is also weighing competing offers from the U.S. and Russia for 5th-generation F-35 and Su-57 fighters - two advanced models also rarely sharing a stage in Dubai this week.

'BASE' FOR FUTURE PROGRAMMES

India has for years been among the world's biggest arms importers, but has increasingly projected the Tejas as an example of self-reliance with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking a sortie in the fighter in November 2023.

Like most fighter programmes, the Tejas has fought for attention at the intersection of technology and diplomacy.

Development was initially held up partly by sanctions following India's 1998 nuclear tests as well as problems in developing local engines, said Walter Ladwig, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

But the jet's long-term significance is "likely to lie less in sales abroad than in the industrial and technological base it creates for India's future combat-aircraft programmes," he said.

REGIONAL RIVALRY PLAYS OUT


Both India and Pakistan were present in force at the show, where the Tejas performed multiple aerial displays in the presence of the rival Pakistani contingent.

Pakistan disclosed the signing of a provisional agreement with a "friendly country" to supply its JF-17 Thunder Block III fighter, co-developed with China.

On the ramp, a JF-17 was flanked by arms including PL-15E, the export variant of a family of Chinese missiles that U.S. and Indian officials say brought down at least one French Rafale used by India during an aerial battle with Pakistan in May.

At an exhibition stand, manufacturer PAC distributed brochures touting the JF-17, one of two models deployed by Pakistan during the four-day conflict, as "battle-tested".

India is a lot more careful with the Tejas, which was not actively used in the four-day conflict in May, Indian officials have said, without giving any reasons.

Nor did it participate in the annual January 26 Republic Day aerial display in New Delhi this year due to what officials said were safety reasons associated with single-engine aircraft.


This always perplexed me, I don't know why India would be eyeing any export orders when they do not even have the infrastructure currently to build more than 15 Tejas per year and that too is dependent on Americans supplying the GE engine on time.
 
Few reports ive found, stating Armenia have cancelled thr deal to buy the tejas:








:ROFLMAO:
 
F-16 crashed in California but who are laughing when Tejas crashed are now hiding in the corner. :klopp :kp
 
F-16 crashed in California but who are laughing when Tejas crashed are now hiding in the corner. :klopp :kp
Who laughed??? Mention please otherwise stop lying bro...

I think you were waiting for it to happen so you can do bhangra over it... Carry on
 
Countries which has zero scientific or technological contribution or experience would not understand that failures and mistakes are part and parcel of complex technology development and you learn and iterate to improve and get better ...once they remove their bias they can look at China as an example. Tejas is obviously not in the league of rafale su30 mki or f35...it's a lower cost mass aircraft used for increasing quantity and honing the technology...so the AMCA becomes real deal..you got to start somewhere
 
@JaDed @Vikram1989 @Devadwal - also how come no country is interested in buying the tejas - since the crash
Tejas is a low-quality junk. Countries are intelligent enough not to buy it I guess. :inti

Theses 🤡 only can post fake news .
Armenia is negotiating to buy 12 HAL - Built Su-30Mki fighter from india , not Tejas.

:klopp :kp
 
Theses 🤡 only can post fake news .
Armenia is negotiating to buy 12 HAL - Built Su-30Mki fighter from india , not Tejas.

:klopp :kp
Dude I prefer both of them posting Indian news, the TP section is filled with them, don’t stop them, @finalfantasy7 is my new source of Indian news- albeit it could be from anytime in the last 3 years but its still very interesting.
 
Dude I prefer both of them posting Indian news, the TP section is filled with them, don’t stop them, @finalfantasy7 is my new source of Indian news- albeit it could be from anytime in the last 3 years but its still very interesting.
where have i listed a 3yr old article,


is it that you just cant accept the articles i list on pp
 
Fully agree with you - another great insightful article listed from you

Thanks.

Why would any country buy Tejas after what happened in Dubai? :inti

They are better off buying Chinese military equipment which are far more reliable (as we saw during India's failed Operation Tandoor).
 
Should India re-design Tejas? The design looks very odd. It looks like a giant flying samosa. :inti

This Tejas aircraft reminds me of Rahkeem Cornwall and Deepti Sharma.

1765055842220.png
 
Tejas crash in Dubai—A wake-up call for India’s defence tech in an era of hybrid warfare



The Tejas crash now sits in the same volatile information space. Even before recovery teams issued formal statements, thousands of coordinated posts, many from bot clusters, began making claims.

The tragic crash of an Indian Air Force Tejas fighter jet at the Dubai Air Show on November 21, 2025, has cast a long shadow over India’s indigenous defense ambitions. The HAL Tejas, a symbol of self-reliance, plummeted to the ground in a fireball during its aerial display at Al Maktoum International Airport, claiming the life of its pilot, Wing Commander Namansh Syal.

My condolences to his family and friends.

The tragic crash of the Indian Air Force’s Tejas fighter jet at the Dubai Air Show has raised more questions than answers. While the official inquiry is underway and no evidence of foul play has been established, the incident comes at a time when India is facing one of the most aggressive global disinformation and cyberwarfare environments in recent memory. The timing, the optics, and the information battlespace surrounding the crash demand a deeper examination — not of the pilot or the platform, but of the world India now operates in.

We have entered a geopolitical era where military power is challenged not only on the battlefield, but also through digital sabotage, deepfakes, cyber espionage, compromised supply chains, and coordinated global propaganda. Tejas—India’s symbol of self-reliance—has become a prime target for hostile narratives and foreign influence operations.

This is not speculation. It is pattern recognition.

When Disinformation Becomes a Weapon System

India has seen a surge in foreign-origin influence campaigns, many aligned with state-sponsored interests. A recent example: the circulation of a deepfake image claiming that the Rafale jet had crashed, meant to undermine India’s defense acquisition decisions. The image was debunked within minutes, but the damage was done — WhatsApp forwards, political memes, and social media attacks spread faster than the correction.

This is classic fifth-generation warfare. The new WMD: weapons of mass distraction! Yes, distraction!

The Tejas crash now sits in the same volatile information space. Even before recovery teams issued formal statements, thousands of coordinated posts — many from bot clusters — began claiming:

  • Tejas is “unsafe”
  • Indian defense tech is “inferior”
  • Foreign jets should replace indigenous platforms
  • India cannot “compete” with China’s aviation ecosystem
This is not a coincidence.
It is the new battlefield.

India’s Indigenous Platforms Face Asymmetric Pressure

Tejas represents more than an aircraft. It symbolizes:

  • Supply-chain independence
  • Strategic autonomy
  • Reduction of Western and Chinese dependency
  • Export potential across Asia, Africa, and Latin America
In the global arms market, every sale Tejas wins is a sale someone else loses.

That alone creates geopolitical friction.

Now add that:

  • China is promoting its JF-17 aggressively
  • Western players want to influence South Asian and ASEAN procurement
  • Russia is pushing the Su-75 “Checkmate”
And suddenly, a Tejas crash at an international air show does not just become a technical incident — it becomes a geoeconomic inflection point.

Again:
This is not alleging sabotage.
But it is identifying vested global interests in controlling the narrative.

Understanding the Real Risk: Supply-Chain and Cyber Vulnerability

Regardless of what caused the crash, the broader issue India must confront is this:

Defense platforms are no longer vulnerable only to mechanical failure — they are vulnerable to digital compromise.

Modern fighters include:

  • Fly-by-wire systems
  • Real-time data buses
  • Mission computers
  • Telemetry links
  • AI-assisted diagnostics
  • Middleware for comms, targeting, and sensor fusion
Any one of these can be a vector for:

Malware, firmware manipulation, counterfeit chips, telemetry spoofing, or manipulated sensor data.

As someone who worked in past decades on avionics standards like ARINC 629, ISO 9646 test suites, and global telecom protocols, I can say with certainty:
any system dependent on digital integrity can be compromised if supply-chain trust is broken.

Even a minor weakness in:

  • Vendor firmware updates
  • Third-party components
  • Maintenance software
  • Remote monitoring tools
…can create systemic risk.

This is not science fiction.
It is the daily reality of cyber defense labs worldwide.

Geopolitics Meets Cybersecurity

When analyzing the Tejas crash, India must widen its lens:

  • Was the platform compromised?
  • Was the supply chain targeted?
  • Were digital diagnostics manipulated?
  • Were external threat actors running disinformation campaigns?
We do not presume any of these happened — but India’s adversaries are known for exploiting gray zones between truth and uncertainty.

China’s known playbook includes:

  • Deepfake deployment
  • Covert online propaganda
  • Cyber reconnaissance
  • Compromised hardware exports
Russia’s toolkit includes:

  • Narrative warfare
  • Misdirection around defense incidents
  • Influence operations in South Asia
Western players, too, push hard to preserve their fighter jet export markets.

India must treat information integrity as seriously as hardware integrity.

The Most Dangerous Vector: AI-Amplified Disinformation

The Tejas crash marks one of the first major Indian defense incidents in the era of ubiquitous AI-generated disinformation.

Today:

  • Deepfakes can be made in 30 seconds
  • Social botnets can amplify a fake claim to 10 million views in an hour
  • Foreign adversaries can shape online sentiment in real time
  • False technical analyses can be inserted into news cycles
The battlefield has shifted from runways to GPUs.

India must respond accordingly.

India Needs an AI-Based Defense Integrity Model

India should transition to a new defense digital architecture with three pillars:

  1. Secure Data Mediation
Secure Data Mediation can:

  • Validate data integrity
  • Authenticate real-time telemetry
  • Lock supply-chain changes
  • Provide audit trails
  • Detect anomalies across aircraft systems
This reduces systemic cyber risk.

  1. Conversational AI for Defense Audit Trails
Agentic AI systems can act as:

  • Real-time defense analysts
  • Flight log auditors
  • Telemetry interpreters
  • Disinformation detection engines
This ensures faster truth discovery and fewer narrative distortions.

  1. TRiSM: Trust, Risk & Security Management for AI
AI systems must be deployed with:

  • Transparent models
  • Explainable logic
  • Ethical guardrails
  • Secure data boundaries
To ensure India’s defense AI is trusted intelligence, not another attack surface.

A New National Priority

India’s enemies are not waiting.

Our response must be swift, coordinated, and technologically superior.
The Tejas crash should not erode confidence in indigenous capability — it should accelerate the modernization of India’s defense digital ecosystem.

Whether the cause was mechanical, human, or environmental, the message remains clear:

India must secure not only its aircraft — but its information, its supply chains, and its narrative.

This is the real lesson of Dubai.

The Tejas program will recover.
The bigger question is whether India will use this moment to transform the very foundation of its defense technology and cyber posture.

Akshay Sharma is a former Gartner analyst and contributor to both the SWIFT protocol for International Banking and ARINC 629 Databus used in Boeing and Airbus aircraft, for fly-by-wire. He served as CTO for firms supporting the World Bank, India’s DRDO, and Air Force. Now Chief Technology Evangelist for an AI/ML company, he is a board member of Somy Ali’s nonprofit No More Tears, and has over 30 published essays in ThePrint.IN. He draws inspiration from Swami Vivekananda’s teachings, and is a descendent of Maharishi Bhardwaj, inventor of the Vimanas.
 

IAF = I Am Falling.

2025 has been a PR disaster for India.

They lost 3 Rafale Jets, 1 Tejas jet, and 2-3 other jets. All within the space of 6 months.

I think it was a combination of pilot incompetency and poor maintenance (mostly pilot incompetency). :inti
 
Not sure why anyone takes Arnab seriously. He is all about sensationalism and TRP.

Anyways, India needs ways to go before they can compete with the state of the art Jets from US or even China. But the good thing is, they are at least trying. They will succeed someday.

I remember ISRO used to be a joke in 80's. It took them almost 25 years to establish themselves as world class space rocket launcher. Now they do not have to beg other nations to launch their satellites in the orbit.

Try try till you succeed. Haters will laugh when you fall while you are perfecting the art. A strong willed mind will ignore them and keep improving. (y)
 
Not sure why anyone takes Arnab seriously. He is all about sensationalism and TRP.

Anyways, India needs ways to go before they can compete with the state of the art Jets from US or even China. But the good thing is, they are at least trying. They will succeed someday.

I remember ISRO used to be a joke in 80's. It took them almost 25 years to establish themselves as world class space rocket launcher. Now they do not have to beg other nations to launch their satellites in the orbit.

Try try till you succeed. Haters will laugh when you fall while you are perfecting the art. A strong willed mind will ignore them and keep improving. (y)
So champ whats the update with the Tejas crash, was it pilot or plane error
 
No country should buy Tejas, unless they want to lose like India.

This plane is only good for Bollywood movies. Not wars. :inti
 
I don't keep up with the Indian defense updates. All I know is, India will one day will produce world class Jets. Its a matter of time.

LOL @ "matter of time".

India is declining in many metrics. You don't keep up because you like to bury your head in the sand I guess. :inti
 

Delusional Indian Media Claims Tejas Is Better Than Eurofighter​






Looks like the tajas has plenty of faults, sanghis respond:

@Rajdeep @cricketjoshila @Champ_Pal @JaDed @Devadwal @uppercut @Theanonymousone @straighttalk @Vikram1989 @Varun @Romali_rotti @Bhaijaan @Cover Drive Six @rickroll @RexRex @rpant_gabba, @Romali_rotti @kron @globetrotter @Hitman @jnaveen1980 @Local.Dada @CrIc_Mystique


#FreeMinoritiesOfIndiaFromHindus

#SaveAllIndianMinorities

#FreeIndiaFromHinduExtremism

#SanctionIndiaIndians
 

JF-17 vs Tejas – The Brutal Comparison India Won’t Like​




Seems like the tejas, wasn't afterall made in india, heavily reliant on France / America / Israel, video shows you that the tejas has many faults.


The amount of countries who have rejected to buy the tejas, is crazy, still hasnt been used in any conflicts, is the tejas a complete failure?


@Rajdeep @cricketjoshila @Champ_Pal @JaDed @Devadwal @uppercut @Theanonymousone @straighttalk @Vikram1989 @Varun @Romali_rotti @Bhaijaan @Cover Drive Six @rickroll @RexRex @rpant_gabba, @Romali_rotti @kron @globetrotter @Hitman @jnaveen1980 @Local.Dada @CrIc_Mystique


#FreeMinoritiesOfIndiaFromHindus

#SaveAllIndianMinorities

#FreeIndiaFromHinduExtremism

#SanctionIndiaIndians
 

Tejas Tragedy - Man or Machine? | No Solution For India's Fighter Jet Crisis? | Akash Banerjee​





Indians why are you so quuuuuuuuuuuuuuiet over this, ive asked so many times, what was the updat eon the investigation - yet none of you respond, but yet when it was announced that HAL didnt win the contract for the so called 5th generation fighter program - yet you all thr - happy with that decision, but when i question on this thread that HAL are well known to be rubbish = you lot said they were really good = you lot never make sense.


Cmon provide me an update

@Rajdeep @cricketjoshila @Champ_Pal @Devadwal @uppercut @straighttalk @Vikram1989 @Varun @Romali_rotti @Bhaijaan @Cover Drive Six @rickroll @RexRex @rpant_gabba, @Romali_rotti @kron @globetrotter @Hitman @jnaveen1980 @Local.Dada @CrIc_Mystique @Van_Sri @nish_mate @SportsWarrior @kaayal @saimayubera
 
India loses another Tejas jet to suspected technical glitch, pilot ejects safely

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has lost another Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in an accident, triggering investigations and extensive technical checks across the fleet.

According to sources, the incident occurred earlier this month in an operational area at a key air base when the fighter jet was landing after a routine training sortie. Preliminary assessment pointed to a suspected technical glitch, possibly involving a failure in onboard systems.

The aircraft has suffered severe airframe damage and may be written off. The pilot, however, ejected safely and escaped without serious injury.

This is the third Tejas aircraft lost since induction into the IAF.


 
Another day, another Tejas crash.

Rise and fall is part of life dear.
Tejas is proudly indigenous with an American heart. Soon we will make it fully Bharatiya brother. Thats when we can trust it the most.
 
In an industry which demands a minimum of 99.99% precision, we have trotted out an aircraft built by HAL, an entity with close to 50% of reservation riff-raff.

What do you expect?

1 Tejas crash per year shouldn't come as a surprise, sadly.
 
In an industry which demands a minimum of 99.99% precision, we have trotted out an aircraft built by HAL, an entity with close to 50% of reservation riff-raff.

What do you expect?

1 Tejas crash per year shouldn't come as a surprise, sadly.

HAL has to to emply 50% of their workforce from reservations ? Who came up with that idea ?
 

Tejas crash: Indian Air Force grounds fleet following third accident in two years​

The jet manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited overshot the runway; pilot escaped uninjured. The aircraft participated in a training sortie before the crash

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has grounded its entire fleet of 30 single-seat Tejas light combat aircraft following another accident earlier this month. IAF has not issued an official statement on the crash. Indian news agency PTI, however, cited sources saying safety measures are being taken to conduct an extensive technical scrutiny.

The latest incident, which occurred on February 7, is the third accident in two years involving the Tejas jets designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency. Reports on Monday said the aircraft sustained major damage to its airframe following a suspected brake failure. The combat aircraft had participated in a training sortie before the crash. It was returning to the base when its system malfunctioned, forcing the pilot to eject.

SHARJAH

The first incident involving Tejas, which was inducted into service in 2015, happened in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, in March 2024. The second incident took place in November 2025 during an aerial display at the Dubai Airshow, in which the pilot was killed.

“An IAF Tejas aircraft met with an accident during an aerial display at the Dubai Air Show today,” the IAF said in a statement after the crash last year “The pilot sustained fatal injuries in the accident. IAF deeply regrets the loss of life and stands firmly with the bereaved family in this time of grief.”

Source: Khaleej Times
 
Rise and fall is part of life dear.
Tejas is proudly indigenous with an American heart. Soon we will make it fully Bharatiya brother. Thats when we can trust it the most.
The US is playing games on when they will provide the engines for Tejas.
 
Rise and fall is part of life dear.
Tejas is proudly indigenous with an American heart. Soon we will make it fully Bharatiya brother. Thats when we can trust it the most.
dear lord, your blaming the americans, complete joker,
 
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