Tejas aircraft

Tejas aircraft
x
Highlights

For the first time in two decades, an indigenously developed aircraft took to skies on Republic Day on Thursday with LCA Tejas joining the fleet of 35 aircraft that were part of the aerial display today. Marut was the last indigenous fighter aircraft to be part of the Republic Day flypast in the 1980s.

For the first time in two decades, an indigenously developed aircraft took to skies on Republic Day on Thursday with LCA Tejas joining the fleet of 35 aircraft that were part of the aerial display today. Marut was the last indigenous fighter aircraft to be part of the Republic Day flypast in the 1980s.

The development of Tejas, which will be replacing the ageing fleet of workhorse MiG-21s of the IAF, was being closely by neighbouring nations such as Pakistan and China, who have jointly developed the JF-17 Thunder, a single-engine, light combat aircraft. However, technical specifications suggest that the JF-17 Thunder is no match for the Tejas.

The supersonic roar of India's own Light Combat Aircraft - Tejas - filled the sky. Three Tejas jets flew at a height of 300 metres from ground at a speed of 780 km per hour in 'VIC' formation, writes India Today. Tejas is indigenously developed by Aeronautical Development Agency, an autonomous society of DRDO and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

It is a light-weight and multirole four plus generation tactical fighter aircraft which can carry laser guided bombs and modern missiles to cause extreme damage to the target. The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) ‘Tejas’ was inducted into No. 45 Squadron of the Indian Air Force (IAF) on July 1, 2016. It is a move towards self-reliance in ‘Air Power’ requirement of the nation.

Tejas is the pride of the country and a step towards “Make in India” initiative. The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after the HAL HF-24 Marut. As of 2016 the Tejas MK1 was in production for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the naval version was undergoing flight tests for Indian Navy (IN).

The projected requirement for IAF is 200 single-seat fighters and 20 twin-seat trainers, while the IN expects to operate 40 single-seat fighters. It integrates technologies such as relaxed static stability, fly-by-wire flight control system, multi-mode radar, integrated digital avionics system, composite material structures, and a flat rated engine. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.

Show Full Article
Print Article
Next Story
More Stories
ADVERTISEMENT