A court will investigate to find out what caused the accident, according to official sources.
The Tejas aircraft is made by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), a government-owned aerospace company. It's designed for air combat and support missions, with secondary roles including reconnaissance and anti-ship operations.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to use Tejas as its main fighter jet. So far, they have received about 40 Tejas jets of the initial variants.
In February 2021, the defence ministry signed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with HAL to buy 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF.
In November last year, the ministry approved the purchase of 97 more Tejas jets for the IAF.
The crash happened during a training flight in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. It's the first time a Tejas jet has been in an accident. The pilot ejected safely, and there were no injuries.
The IAF has ordered an inquiry to find out what caused the crash.
The incident occurred about 100 km from where a military exercise called 'Bharat Shakti' was taking place. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and top military leaders were attending the event.
There was no damage to property or loss of life in the crash. Thick black smoke was seen coming from a single-story building where the aircraft crashed.
