A more advanced version of the Tejas light combat aircraft made its debut flight from a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited facility in Bengaluru on Tuesday, bringing it closer to induction in the Indian Air Force.
The first LCA in final operational clearance (FOC) standard, piloted by Air Commodore KA Muthana (retd), took to the skies for its maiden flight and was airborne for 40 minutes, a spokesperson for state-run military planemaker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited said.
The IAF has already inducted Tejas fighters in the initial operational clearance (IOC) standard and is now gearing up to operate fighters in the more advanced FOC configuration.
“This (the maiden flight) would pave the way for production of remaining 15 fighters from the FOC block which are planned to be delivered (to the IAF) during the next financial year,” the spokesperson said.
He added that the FOC aircraft were equipped with advanced capabilities such as air-to-air refueling, beyond visual range missile systems and come with several improvements over the IOC aircraft in the IAF fleet.
The IAF has so far ordered 40 LCAs that are in the IOC and FOC configurations. The IAF plans to buy another 83 LCA Mk-1A jets, taking the total number of Tejas variants ordered to 123. The LCA Mk-1A will come with additional improvements over the FOC aircraft, making it the most advanced Tejas variant.
HAL is hoping to hammer out a Rs 38,000-crore deal with the IAF for the 83 additional jets soon. The order is crucial for the HAL to prevent a complete halt of production at its facilities. HT reported on January 11 that HAL’s order books are empty beyond 2021-22 and new orders from the armed forces are critical for continuity in production.
The Mk-1A variant is expected to come with digital radar warning receivers, external self-protection jammer pods, active electronically scanned array radar and significantly improved maintainability.
