The indigenous LCA Tejas fighter jet has been out of the Indian Air Force’s deadliest exercise Vayushakti, which is going to be held on Friday (February 27) at the Pokhran firing range, because after the accident at Naliya airbase in Gujarat, all the Tejas fighter planes of the Air Force have been grounded.
While landing at Naliya on 7 February, the Tejas aircraft crashed. In such a situation, to find out the technical flaw, the flight of all Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas of the Air Force has been banned. This was the third accident of LCA Tejas in the last two years. Earlier last year, an LCA Tejas had also crashed in the Dubai Air Show. Also in the year 2024, during an exercise at Pokhran firing range, Tejas had crashed.
Meanwhile, the satellite image of Naliya airbase and the damaged debris of Tejas has been released in open source intelligence. It is believed that during the accident, the airframe of Tejas was damaged and is lying close to the runway till the investigation is completed. However, after the incident, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the government aviation company that manufactures Tejas, claimed that the accident was a minor one due to a technical fault.
In the Vayushakti exercise to be held on Friday, the country’s President Draupadi Murmu and Defense Minister Rajnath will review the strength of the Air Force. During this time, Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh will also be present in Pokhran. 77 fighter jets and 43 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are going to show their fire-power demo to the whole world with about 12 thousand kg of ammunition.
This year, fighter planes like Rafale and Sukhoi will participate in the Vayushakti exercise held once in two years. During the exercise, the attacks carried out in Operation Sindoor (7-10 May) will also be simulated in the Pokhran range. Along with this, the countrymen will be made aware of the power of the Air Force. One of the objectives of the exercise is to attract the youth of the country towards the Air Force.
There is a preparation to give a message to China and Pakistan through the exercise because during Operation Sindoor, the alliance of China and Pakistan against India was seen. Apart from China’s fighter jets and air-to-air missiles, satellite also shared information about the movement of the Indian Air Force with Pakistan.
To avenge the Pahalgam massacre (April 22, 2025), the Indian Air Force entered Pakistan and destroyed the headquarters of terrorist organizations Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, and destroyed 11 airbases and two radar stations of Pakistan with heavy bombing. After Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force has organized many big exercises, but such a huge fire power demo is being done for the first time through Vayushakti.