The Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari reviewed
the status of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme at Air Headquarters on
23 August 2023. Also in attendance were senior functionaries from the Ministry
of Defence, DRDO, HAL and ADA. Opening the proceedings, the CAS brought out
that the LCA has been the flag bearer of the Indian Air Force's (IAF) efforts
towards indigenisation of its aircraft fleet. He said that given the nature of
this project of national importance, it is required that all stakeholders adopt
a collaborative approach towards its success. The programme has been the
harbinger of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the nation.
More importantly, it is a flag bearer of India's self-reliance in the aerospace
sector.
During the review, it was brought out that all contracted fighter
variants of the LCA Mk.1 had been delivered to the IAF. Representatives of HAL
assured the CAS of the timely delivery of the contracted twin-seaters in the
coming months, as well. Further to the LCA Mk.1, 83 LCA Mk.1A aircraft have
also been contracted by the IAF in 2021. The Chairman & Managing Director
of HAL assured those present that the deliveries of this advanced variant of
the LCA would commence by Feb 2024.
While complimenting HAL, the CAS indicated that based on these
assurances, the LCA Mk.1A could be inducted in a newly raised squadron in one
of the IAF's operational bases, early next year. Notwithstanding the project
delays that were brought out during the course of the review, the CAS lauded
the efforts of all stakeholders and emphasised on the need to incorporate the
lessons learnt from the LCA programme into future indigenous design and
developmental projects. With timely deliveries of the more capable variant, the
LCA Mk.1A is likely to see increased deployments at forward bases, besides
participation in international exercises in the days to come.
LCA
Tejas tests Astra BVRAAM
Tejas,
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) LSP-7 successfully fired the Astra indigenous
Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile off the coast of Goa on 23
August 2023. The missile release was successfully carried out from the aircraft
at an altitude of about 20,000 ft. All the objectives of the test were met and
it was a perfect text book launch.
Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) LSP-7 successfully firing the
Astra (poor quality image)
The
test launch was monitored by the Test Director and scientists
of Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO), Hindustan Aeronautics
Limited (HAL) along with officials from Centre for Military
Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) and Directorate General of
Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DG-AQA). The aircraft was also monitored
by a chase Tejas twin seater aircraft.
Astra, a state-of-the-art BVR air-to-air missile
to engage and destroy highly maneuvering supersonic aerial targets, is designed
and developed by Defence Research and Development
Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and other
laboratories of DRDO. The indigenous Astra BVR firing from home grown Tejas fighter
is a major step towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh complimented ADA,
DRDO, CEMILAC, DG-AQA and the industry for the successful firing of the missile
from Tejas-LCA. He said the launch would significantly enhance the
combat prowess of Tejas and reduce the dependency on imported weapons.
Secretary, Department of Defence (R&D) and Chairman DRDO has also
congratulated the teams involved in the successful launch.
