The Aeronautical Development Agency may seek a Rs 10,000 crore grant to take the 15-year-old Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project to pre-production stage involving manufacture of 10-15 aircraft for extensive flight testing by the Indian Air Force.
The request for additional funds may be placed in early 1999 after the agency manages to get the aircraft's two prototypes to fly. The target for first flight is December 1998. Now being put through ground tests, the LCA suffered a setback following the withdrawal of technical support by two US technology providers, General Electric and Lockheed Martin.
The agency went ahead with its engine tests nevertheless and successfully completed ground tests in July. The next big challenge is the flight test. If that works, the proposal will be put up for the pre-production stage.
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The agency has so far spent Rs 2,300 crore on the project that includes development of two flight-tested prototypes. The original programme is behind schedule by five years and the new induction date for the LCA is after 2007.
The first prototype is fitted with twin General Electric engines and the production versions will be equipped with similar engines made indigenously by the Gas Turbine Research Organisation, a defence ministry organisation.
Sources said engine firing was a significant step and proved that Indian efforts in putting together a complex weapons platform had borne fruit. All systems powered by the engines had performed as expected, they said.
The prototype is supposed to complete a number of static firing hours before it can taxi. An equally intensive taxi testing will precede actual flight. If the current series of tests progresses on schedule, the LCA should be airborne within the next six to nine months, the sources said.
The defence minister's scientific adviser, A P J Abdul Kalam, has attached singular importance to speedy completion of the LCA project since 1992 when he took over his present post.
The LCA is targeted at equipping the air force with 200-300 fighters and looking for an export market among developing countries.
Its USP is it will be cheap at under $18 million as compared to over $20 million for the Swedish Jas Grippen, its closest competitor.
Following the withdrawal of support by General Electric, the agency roped in Rosvoorouzenhie, the Russian arms export agency, to help with testing the indigenously developed engines.
A search is on to find a vendor to fill the gap caused by withdrawal of Lockheed Martin that was to have supplied the flight control system.