The final day of the Dubai Airshow – 2025 international exhibition was marred by an incident. The Indian HAL Tejas light fighter crashed during a demonstration flight.
The accident occurred around 14:10 local time, when the Tejas suddenly lost altitude, crashed into the ground, and caught fire. Footage on the Web shows thick black smoke rising from the scene.
The Indian Air Force confirmed the pilot's death and stated that they have formed an investigation team to determine the cause of the crash.
According to preliminary data, the fighter crashed while performing a "barrel roll", making a full rotation around its axis. The Rostec State Corporation expressed its condolences to the Indian side.
Aviation is high-tech, complex, and, alas, sometimes associated with great risk. We express our condolences.
This is the second such incident involving the Tejas in recent years. In 2024, one of the aircraft crashed during exercises in India, but the pilot managed to eject.
As a reminder, the Tejas was designed with an "open architecture" for weapons control. The aircraft supports the integration of combat systems from various countries, including the R-73 — a Soviet-Russian short-range missile.
The airshow organizers temporarily suspended flights after the Tejas crash, and visitors were sent back to the exhibition area. The Russian Air Force's aerobatic team, the "Strizhi", was scheduled to perform on the last day of the exhibition.
It is worth mentioning that India has been discussing the possibility of purchasing Su-57 fighters with Russia. The Indian side hopes to create its own fifth-generation combat aircraft using Russian technologies.