An Indian Air Force Tejas fighter jet taking part in an aerial display at the Dubai Airshow crashed on the final day of the event on Friday at 2:10pm local time, killing the pilot on board.
The Indian Air Force confirmed the fatality and announced an investigation to determine the causes of the Tejas crash. In a statement posted on X, the force expressed condolences to the bereaved family while promising a full inquiry into the incident.
The jet was part of India’s display at the Dubai Airshow, which ran from 17 to 21 November. The aircraft went down during a routine demonstration on the show’s closing day while performing aerobatics as part of the exhibition.
Social media users had recently shared claims of a fuel leak from the Tejas on display, but the Indian government’s PIB fact check account on X rejected those allegations. Authorities said the visible discharge was a routine removal of contaminated water from the aircraft’s environmental control system and on‑board oxygen generating system, not a fuel leak.
This is the second Tejas to suffer a fatal accident after an earlier crash in March 2024 in Rajasthan. The recurrence has prompted renewed scrutiny of the platform and the ongoing investigation aims to clarify whether technical failure or other factors were involved in this latest Tejas crash.
The Tejas name comes from Sanskrit meaning flame or radiance. Introduced into service in 2016, the Tejas is India’s first largely indigenous single‑engine fighter with more than half of its components produced domestically. The aircraft is described as a multirole fighter capable of carrying roughly eight to nine tonnes of payload, fitted with a locally developed radar, and able to operate at heights near 52,000 feet at speeds between Mach 1.6 and 1.8.
In September the Indian Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with Indian Aeronautics Limited for the purchase of 97 Tejas jets, with deliveries expected to begin in 2027. The latest accident will be watched closely across the region by defence and aviation observers, including in Pakistan, as investigators work to establish the full sequence of events leading to the crash.
