Govt clears LCA-Mk2 fighter’s development
The government has sanctioned around ₹10,000 crore for the project, and the LCA Mk-2 is likely to take first flight in two years officials, familiar with developments said.
The government has given its nod for developing the next generation variant of the light combat aircraft — LCA Mk-2 — a platform that will form an important element of future air combat, officials familiar with developments said on Wednesday.
The government has sanctioned around ₹10,000 crore for the project, and the LCA Mk-2 is likely to take first flight in two years, setting the stage for its production and subsequent operational availability around 2028, said one of the officials cited above, asking not to be named.
Hindustan Times reported on Wednesday that the sanction for LCA Mk-2 project was imminent and could come as early as this week.
The LCA Mk-2 project will provide a significant boost to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) campaign, one of the government’s foremost priorities.
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The new fighter jet is expected to cater to the future requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF), which has already inducted earlier variants of the LCA and has ordered 83 Mk-1A variants.
The Mk-2 fighter will be the most advanced LCA variant to be designed and developed indigenously by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), said the official. It will be equipped with a more powerful engine (GE-414) , a superior radar, better avionics and electronics, and will be capable of carrying a higher weapons payload, said a second official, requesting anonymity.
“This is a much awaited and welcome decision. IAF is grappling with a shortage of fighter squadrons, and LCA Mk-2 will play a key role in plugging capability gaps. At the same time, it is important to ensure that the production rate of LCA Mk-1A is ramped up,” said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre of Air Power Studies.
In 2021, the defence ministry had awarded a ₹48,000-crore contract to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 83 LCA Mk-1A jets for the IAF. The first aircraft is expected to be delivered by March 2024, with the rest slated to join the combat fleet by 2029.
IAF could order more than 210 LCA Mk-2 fighters in the long term, said the second official.
Of the 123 LCA fighters already ordered, 20 each are in the initial operational clearance (IOC) and the more advanced final operational clearance (FOC) configurations, according to officials. The remaining 83 fighters will come with additional improvements over FOC aircraft. IAF has already inducted some of the earlier LCA variants.
The Mk-1A will come with digital radar warning receivers, external self-protection jammer pods, active electronically scanned array radar, advanced beyond-visual-range missiles, and significantly improved maintainability.
LCA Mk-2 is expected to fill the gap between Mk-1A and the homegrown fifth-generation fighter programme — the advanced medium combat aircraft (AMCA). There is a possibility of equipping AMCA with directed energy weapons, superior anti-missile systems, advanced missile approach warning systems, and teaming it with unmanned systems, HT had previously reported.
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A new import ban imposed by the government on hundreds of military sub-systems and components on Sunday has brought India’s quest for indigenisation into sharper focus, set goals for the local defence manufacturing industry, and turned the spotlight on the journey so far and the long road ahead for attaining meaningful self-reliance.
The main steps taken to inject momentum into the self-reliance drive include bringing out a series of ‘positive indigenisation lists’ (six have been published so far to ban the import of major weapons, platforms, sub-systems and components), creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, earmarking a research and development budget for private industry and start-ups, and raising foreign direct investment (FDI) in defence manufacturing.