India's TEJAS MK-2 project is intended to provide the Indian Air Force (IAF) with a more advanced version of the TEJAS MK-1 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). The aircraft's key role is to give the IAF the ability to wield a wide range of stand-off weapons.

The IAF previously said that it requires about 180 aircraft. This is on the condition that the aircraft has better capabilities than the baseline TEJAS MK-1. The IAF mandate is clear – improved radars and avionics, a better engine, greater range, and a greater fuel- and weapons-carrying capacity.


These demands have prompted the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to design an aircraft with 4.5 generation technologies. The MK-2 is built around the core technologies of the MK-1

“The intention is to iron out all the shortcomings found in the MK-1 or MK-1A,” a source involved in the process said.

About 15,000 schematics and blueprints comprise the totality of the design. Within these are design features intended to give the MK-2 key advantages over some international combat aircraft.

These include the aircraft's ability to integrate 42 air-launched weapons, with commonality in pylons. According to data previously released by the ADA, which oversees the development of the TEJAS, the baseline Mk 1 and 1A have a payload-carrying capacity of 3,500 kg. The MK-2 has been designed for a payload capacity of 6,500 kg.