Tejas was named by Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The newly inducted aircraft ‘Tejas’ was named by the former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Tejas, which means ‘radiance’ in Sanskrit, made its first flight on January 4 in 2001. Tejas will be used to replace the Indian Air Force’s ageing fleet of Mig-21 and MiG-23 aircraft. The aircraft is indigenously developed by Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.