 "Tejas Light Combat Aircraft mark 1")
The Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, was informed during a high-level review of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme on Tuesday that all contracted single-seat variants of the LCA Mark 1 had been delivered to the IAF.
Representatives of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) also assured the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) of the timely delivery of the contracted twin-seaters in the coming months. This would bring the total number of Tejas Mark 1 fighters delivered to 40, equivalent to two squadrons.
In addition to these 40 fighters, the IAF contracted with HAL in 2021 to buy 83 Tejas Mark-1A fighters. The HAL chairman assured the air chief that deliveries of this advanced variant of the LCA would commence by February 2024.
While praising HAL's efforts, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari indicated that based on these assurances, a number of Tejas Mark 1A fighters could be inducted into a newly raised squadron at one of the IAF's operational bases early next year.
"With timely deliveries of the more capable Mark-1A variant, the Tejas Mk 1A is likely to see increased deployments at forward bases, besides participation in international exercises in the days to come," stated the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a media release on Wednesday.
The air chief also emphasised that the LCA has been the flag bearer of the IAF’s efforts towards the indigenisation of its aircraft fleet and symbolises India's self-reliance in the aerospace sector.
On Wednesday, the Tejas fighter successfully test-fired the indigenous Astra beyond visual range (BVR) air-to-air missile off the Goa coast. Astra is a state-of-the-art missile designed to engage and destroy sharply-maneuvering supersonic aerial targets.
"The missile release was successfully carried out from the aircraft at an altitude of about 20,000 feet. All the objectives of the test were met, and it was a perfect textbook launch," stated the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in a media release on Wednesday.
The launch of Astra was monitored by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), the DRDO laboratory overseeing the Astra programme, and led by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Research Centre Imarat and other DRDO laboratories. A Tejas twin-seater aircraft, playing the role of a "chase aircraft," also monitored the launch.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the DRDO and India's aerospace industry for the successful firing of the Astra missile from the Tejas fighter. He expressed that the launch would significantly enhance the combat capabilities of Tejas and reduce the dependency on imported weapons.
