IAF chief compares India’s Tejas with China-Pak JF-17 jets

Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria on Thursday said that the soon-to-be ordered LCA (light combat aircraft) Mk-1A jets would be way ahead of the JF-17 fighter planes operated by the Pakistan Air Force.

The JF-17 has been jointly developed by China and Pakistan.

With its advanced weapons and sensors, the LCA Mk-1A jets will have good strike capability, he told news channels a day after India’s Cabinet Committee on Security, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a ₹48,000-crore proposal to buy 83 advanced jets to bolster the IAF’s combat potential.

“There is no comparison with the JF-17,” he said.

The air chief added that even the existing final operational clearance (FOC) variant of the LCA was superior to the JF-17. He said the LCA Mk-1 jets would be equipped with the indigenous Astra beyond visual range missiles.