NEW DELHI: India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has said several countries in the Southeast Asian region have expressed their willingness to buy Tejas aircraft — India’s indigenously-built light combat aircraft, Indian media reports have said.

Rajnath Singh became India’s first defense minister to fly Tejas on Thursday. He said he chose to fly Tejas because it was made indigenously.

Speaking after flying the Tejas aircraft, he said, “I was thrilled. The fight was smooth and comfortable.”

He also congratulated the Hindustan Aeronautical Limited, the organization which built Tejas, and some other agencies.

Rajnath Singh further said that India has now reached a level where it can export fighter planes across the world. (Agencies)