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After a long 30 years in the design development & making of The Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), finally it joined the Indian Air Force today and flew on its first flight in Bengaluru, Karnataka,India.
Congratulations to HAL & ADA for successful induction of the indigenously developed Tejas fighter jet. pic.twitter.com/U3Ql4IfbYv
— Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) July 1, 2016
Spot Lights:
- Inaugural ceremony started with a traditional all-faith prayer and also featured a spectacular water-cannon salute as part of the induction process.
- The GOI undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) finally delivered the first two indigenous aircraft to the new squadron called the “Flying Daggers” of Air Force.
- Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar congratulating HAL and ADA for successful induction of Tejas through his tweets.
- Israeli multi-mode modern radar with advanced Derby air to air missiles and targeting pods to hit ground targets.
- Good Bye and farewell to age old MiG-21 planes and Tejas will replace them. “Flying Daggers” of Air Force squadron will get a total of 18 aircraft including 4 trainers in 2018.
- Project started by Rajib Gandhi and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee gave the name “Tejas”, in Sanskrit which means radiance.
- With in two years Air Force will include it in all advance bases
- The Light Combat Aircraft project began in 1985 under Prime Minister Rajib Gandhi. Originally it was planned that The IAF to induct it in 1994 to replace the Russian MiG-21s, but after a prolonged delays, the project achieved the first level of flight worthiness in 2013.
- The squadron will be initially based out of Bengaluru the will moved on to Sulur in Tamil Nadu after two years of operations.
- Mid-air refueling capacity will be the upgraded version of Tejas and advanced beyond the vision range missiles will cost between Rs. 275 crore and Rs. 300 crore.
Induction of indigenously made Tejas fighter jet into the Air Force fills our hearts with unparalleled pride & happiness. #TransformingIndia
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 1, 2016
PIB.nic.in Inputs
The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) “Tejas” inducted into No. 45 Squadron of Indian Air Force (IAF) on 01 Jul 2016. No. 45 Squadron, also called the “Flying Daggers”, was last equipped with MiG 21 Bis Aircraft and operated from Nalia. It’s motto is “Ajeet Nabha”. The Squadron will operate from Bangalore for nearly two years before it moves to its designated location at Sulur near Coimbatore. It is the first fighter Squadron to be a part of the Southern Air Command of IAF headquartered at Thiruvananthapuram.
Group Captain Madhav Rangachari, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, is the Commanding Officer of Flying Daggers. He flew the inaugural flight of LCA in 45 Squadron today. Apart from operational experience on Mirage-2000 and MiG 21, he also has considerable experience on flight testing of LCA prototypes.
Tejas is the first advance Fly-by-wire (FBW) fighter aircraft designed, developed and manufactured in India. Conceived as a MiG-21 replacement, the aircraft has been designed and developed by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It is to the credit of its designers, manufacturer, technicians and test crew, that LCA has flown more than 3000 sorties / 2000 Hrs till date without any accident. Tejas is a 4th Plus generation aircraft with a glass cockpit and is equipped with state of the art Satellite aided Inertial Navigation System. It has a digital computer based attack system and an autopilot. It can fire Air to Air Missiles, Bombs as well as Precision Guided Munitions.
The induction of the aircraft is being planned in a phased manner. The IOC aircraft are armed with Close Combat Air to Air Missiles, Helmet Mounted Display and Precision Guided Weapons like Laser Guided Bombs. These aircraft are also capable of dropping unguided bombs with much higher accuracy due to highly advanced indigenous mission computer. The FOC aircraft would incorporate Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles, improved and better stand-off weapons and air to air refueling capability. IAF is also pitching for additional LCA Mk 1A which would incorporate new generation Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) Radar with simultaneous air to air and air to ground capability, an integrated advanced Electronic Warfare Suite, advanced versions of air to air and air to ground weapons and maintainability improvements.
With 45 Squadron commencing operations today, soon the Tejas would be employed to defend the Indian skies.
