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Stealing their Thunder: India to offer Tejas fighter to Sri Lanka ( Source- Want China Times)

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HAL Tejas ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / Subharnab)

India plans to export its LCA Tejas multirole fighter to Sri Lanka to compete with the JF-17 Thunder or FC-1 Xiaolong multirole fighter developed jointly by China and Pakistan, according to a senior officials from Colombo, the Sunday Observer, an English-language weekly based in Colombo, reported on Oct. 25.

Air Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala, commander of Sri Lanka Air Force, will visit Pakistan next month to learn more about the Thunder, as Sri Lanka wants new supersonic fighter jets to strengthen its air defense. However, air force officials said Bulathsinghala's visit to Pakistan is only a routine official visit. The nation has not made a final decision about purchasing the fighter from Pakistan.

Pakistan and Myanmar are the only two operators of the JF-17, developed jointly by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex and China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group. Since China does not produce the fighter for the PLA Air Force, Pakistan is responsible for opening the export market for the plane. Sri Lanka does not face a direct aerial threat from any of its neighbors, leading public opinion in the country to question whether such a purchase is necessary.

However, officials from the Sri Lanka Air Force insists on the need for advanced fighter jets to deal with a variety of possible threats. While Pakistan is seeking to promote the sale of the Thunder to Sri Lanka, India offers its its Light Combat Aircraft known as the Tejas developed by Hindustan Aeronautics.

While the Thunder has already entered service with the Pakistan Air Force, the Tejas is still undergoing trials in India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed the Tejas should be an indigenous fighter developed and produced locally, though the fighter still uses a British-made engine, the Sunday Observer noted. The Tejas will eventually become a rival for the Thunder in combat capability, according to defense industry assessments.

Original article appeared here @ Want China Times 
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