Breaking: Indian HAL Tejas Fighter Jet Crashes At Dubai Airshow
Jake Hardiman Published 51 minutes ago
Credit: Simple Flying
A plane has crashed on the final day of the Dubai Airshow 2025. Pictures from the scene on Friday afternoon show a cloud of smoke on the far side of the airfield at Al Maktoum International Airport. The aircraft involved is thought to have been a HAL Tejas fighter jet from India, with word going around that its pilot didn't eject. Details in the early stages of the aftermath of the accident remain scarce.
Reporting by Turkish defense publication SavunmaSanayiST suggests that the same aircraft was reported to have experienced a fuel leak the previous day. Gulf News reports that these claims, however, were rejected by India’s Ministry of Defence, which said that viral videos of the supposed leak in fact showed routine condensation draining. In any case, we will endeavour to bring you more details as we get them throughout the day.
The incident occurred at around 2:10 pm local in
Dubai, at which point the Indian HAL Tejas fighter jet was engaged in a planned demonstration as part of the flying display program on the final day of the airshow before crashing to the ground at the airfield. According to Gulf News, the flying display has temporarily been halted in response to the accident, with airshow attendees asked to return to the event's main exhibition area.
While rescue operations are said to have been carried out immediately, the relevant authorities have yet to release any information regarding the condition of the pilot of the aircraft that was involved in today's crash. Videos of the accident have begun to circulate, with one seeming to show the aircraft rolling onto its back and diving towards the ground but being unable to pull up in time to avoid a collision with the surface.
The HAL Tejas was considered to be the future of Indian military aviation, with Simple Flying reporting last year that the country's Air Force was transitioning its operations to this 4.5th-generation fighter, having previously flown the fourth-generation Dassault Mirage 2000 from France. The aircraft, whose name means 'Radiant,' first flew in 2001, but didn't enter service until 2015. To date, a reported 38 have been built, plus 17 prototypes.
