The Indian Air Force has refused to ground Tejas aircraft despite serious flaws. While the indigenous Tejas jet flew over Dubai, it was an international embarrassment that cannot be understated.
Hydraulic fluid and engine oil leaks at the Dubai air show will stain Tejas and its export potential. Photos and videos from the Dubai airshow show ground crews placing a bucket to hold leaking Hydraulic fluid and engine oil.
Pakistan’s JF-17 has structural and engine issues that have forced the country to ground all Block 1 JF-17s. Surprisingly, the Indian Air Force refused to ground the Tejas even after serious flight-control system flaws and Hydraulic fluid leaks.
It took 45 years for India’s Hindustan Aeronautical Limited to fly the Tejas Mk1 fighter jet, amid many serious concerns raised by the Indian Air Force. The most serious safety concern raised by the Indian Air Force is high-angle attack departure protection. No amount of pilot skills can compensate for the Tejas aircraft’s immature flight control system and actuator malfunction in the skies.
The problem lies with Hindustan Aeronautical Limited, which is inexperienced and unable to maintain quality control throughout the production run due to significant corruption in the Tejas project. Indian taxpayers have paid more than $10 billion to develop the aircraft, yet the Indian Air Force has received only a handful of Tejas in 45 years.
Tejas components are imported from the USA, Israel, France, the UK, Germany and Italy and assembled in India, not manufactured in India.
The highly anticipated aerial display by India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas at the Dubai Airshow 2025 has triggered a desperate attempt to cover up the dismal condition of HAL Tejas aircraft.
The controversy erupted with widely circulated videos and images on social media shows the LCA Tejas suffered an “oil leak right on the tarmac” and that Indian Air Force (IAF) technicians were forced to use “shopping bags to plug the spill like a roadside fix.
This incident highlight’s reliability and quality issues with the Indian-assembled, not Indian-made, fighter jet on a significant international platform.
Even frozen fluid in the Hydraulic system and airframe is fatal for the pilot and aircraft. If the Indian Air Force ignores this safety flaws, Tejas will become flying Coffin as India experienced with Su-30MKI, MiG-29K and MiG-21.
The fluid leak from the aircraft’s Environmental Control System (ECS) that drained on the tarmac proves that Hindustan Aeronautical Limited does not care about aircraft quality and has manufacturing flaws in the Tejas.
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