With the possible loss of a third HAL Tejas in Gujarat, the delayed response from authorities, and the controversy that has followed, renewed scrutiny is now on India’s indigenous fighter programme.

Questions are mounting: Has the IAF really lost another Tejas? Why the delay in official communication? And what does this mean for the Mark 1A rollout?

In this episode of In Our Defence, host Dev Goswami and national security expert Sandeep Unnithan discuss the controversy, the difference between Mark 1 and Mark 1A and the future of India’s indigenous fighter program.

The two discuss:

* Why the IAF hasn’t fully accepted the Mark 1A yet

* The GE 404 and 414 engine bottleneck

* Indigenous content — how Indian is Tejas really?

* The HAL–IAF dynamic and the larger structural silos

* Why fighter squadron anxiety is shaping procurement decisions

Tune in!

Produced by Taniya Dutta