advantage of high off-boresight close combat missiles, such as – Python-5 and R-73. On 18 August 2020, IAF deployed the No. 45 Squadron "Flying Dagger" on the western front along the Pakistani border (line of control). It was the first operational deployment of Tejas. On 27 April 2021, Tejas Mark 1 successfully test fired Python-5 high off-boresight (HOBS) close combat missile and further validated enhanced capability of I-Derby ER (extended range) BVR missile. Both missiles scored direct hits on targets during the trial. Potential operators HAL proposed exporting the Tejas, with preliminary talks taking place with several friendly countries. It was reported in March 2020 that HAL is willing to set up logistic facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam as part of exporting the Tejas. United Arab Emirates The Tejas has attracted interest from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with some discussions held during a visit by UAE Minister of State and Defence, Mohammed Ahmed Al Bowardi Al Falacy, during a state visit in October 2018, as part of growing defence relations between India and UAE. Although as of May 2022, Tejas failed to gain any interest. United States In December 2020, in response to a Request for Information (RFI) from the United States Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), HAL offered the "Lead In Fighter Trainer" variant of the HAL Tejas — classified as the "HAL Tejas LIFT", to the United States Navy (USN), as part the latter's initiative to replace its fleet of T-45 Goshawk trainer aircraft, dubbed the "Undergraduate Jet Training System". Other aircraft participating in the UJTS, are the T-7 Red Hawk — offered by Boeing in partnership with Saab, and the KAI T-50A Golden Eagle — offered by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), in partnership with Lockheed Martin. Despite being the only aircraft among the three to be reportedly capable of undertaking operations from an aircraft carrier, the prospects of the USN selecting the HAL Tejas LIFT are reportedly slim, according to multiple sources. Several reasons suggested as the cause of the LIFT's bleak prospects in the UJTS are that HAL has refrained from partnering with a US-based company to offer the LIFT (unlike the consortiums of Boeing-Saab and KAI-Lockheed Martin, offering the T-7 and the T-50A, respectively), a lack of export orders for the type, and its delta-wing design — which makes it less-suitable for low-speed landing. Failed bids Argentina The Argentine Air Force