Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday undertook a sortie on the indigenously built light combat fighter aircraft Tejas in Bengaluru.
Modi, who became the prime minister to fly the Tejas, said the experience has bolstered his confidence in the country's indigenous capabilities.
“Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country's indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential,” he wrote on X.
In another post in Hindi, the prime minister said India is no less than any other country in the world in the field of self-reliance.
"Flying in Tejas today, I can say with immense pride that due to our hard work and dedication, we are no less than anyone in the world in the field of self-reliance. Heartiest congratulations to the Indian Air Force, DRDO and HAL as well as all Indians," he said.
Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari was on the spot to supervise the preparations for Modi's sortie in the indigenous fighter aircraft.
Though Tejas is a single-seater fighter jet, Modi took sortie in the twin-seater trainer variant of the IAF.
Modi is in Bengaluru to visit defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and review the ongoing work at its manufacturing facility.
Several countries have shown interest in buying Tejas, a light combat aircraft, and US defence giant GE Aerospace had inked a pact with HAL to jointly produce engines for the Mk-II-Tejas during the prime minister's state visit to the US.
IAF presently operates 40 Tejas MK-1 aircraft and has 83 Tejas MK-1A fighters on order.