The revised prototype first flew on 24 January 2018 from HAL Airport for 40 minutes, reaching and before evaluating system performance over 20 flights to freeze the production design. In a press conference during Aero India 2019, it was revealed that ₹6,000 crores were released for the production of the aircraft as NAL had got the certification for its improved version recently. Weight was no longer an issue as team was successful in cutting down weight by 0.9 tonnes. The new version will also be fitted with better avionics.