India - IAF to induct Tejas aircraft this year

The locally designed Indian Light Combat Aircraft, HAL Tejas, will be inducted in to the Indian Air Force (IAF) fleet by the end of this year.

According to VK Saraswat, the DRDO chief, all the technical issues which had earlier delayed the induction of the aircraft has been solved and Tejas is ready to enter the final operational clearance phase. The multirole fighter, which was developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency, conducted its first test flight on 4th January 2001. The aircraft is manufactured by the Indian government owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Saraswat, who inaugurated the Aerospace Luminary Lecture Series programme organized by the Aeronautical Society of India, claimed that the naval version of the Tejas is also ready for operation. He said that the naval variant is capable of taking off and landing from aircraft carriers. He argued that the induction of the Tejas aircraft will increase the strike power and offensive capabilities of the Indian Navy.

Saraswat pointed out that April 2012 will be remembered for ever in the Indian defence history, as three major defence milestones were achieved during that month. The first trial flight of the naval variant of Tejas was just one of the milestones, the others being the successful testing of Agni-V and RISAT-I. Agni-V, the Indian intercontinental ballistic missile was tested on April 19. The Radar Imaging Satellite 1 (RISAT-I) was launched on April 26. RISAT is a fully indigenously developed remote sensing satellite, operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The DRDO chief further said that the programmes related to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Advance Medium Combat Aircraft and various long range missiles are progressing well. However, he said that a shortage of engineers is delaying several of the projects. Saraswat said that filling the gaps in manpower is very important for reaching self reliance in the defence field. He claimed that the increase in the volume of defence imports is affecting the self reliance and said that at least in the fields of aerospace, aircraft and defence equipment the country should be self sufficient as far as possible.

The HAL Tejas is having a delta-wing configuration and a top speed of up to 1,195 miles per hour (Mach 1.8). Tejas is the second supersonic fighter aircraft to be built by HAL, the first one being the now obsolete HAL HF-24 Marut. Maximum operational range without refuelling for Tejas is 530 miles and the maximum permissible takeoff weight is 13.2 tonnes. The aircraft can be fitted with a wide variety of air-to-air, air-to-surface and anti-ship missiles.