The Prime Minister today flew a sortie on the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas in Bengaluru - an important development that demonstrates the government's commitment to further developing and ordering the fighter which is at the heart of the IAF's Atmanirbharta plans. The fighter, variants of which will remain in service beyond 2050, is a multi-role jet meant to replace the MiG-21. In its present avatar, the Tejas is considerably more advanced than the MiG-21 which is being phased out and will, ultimately, have capabilities similar to those onboard the IAF's state of the art Rafale fighters.