IAF chief reviews LCA project ahead of Mk-1A deliveries

IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said the LCA was the flag-bearer of the air force’s IAF’s towards indigenisation of its aircraft fleet

NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari reviewed the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) programme, ahead of the delivery of a new variant – Mk-1A – to the air force early next year, the IAF said in a statement on Wednesday.

The first Mk-1A aircraft will be delivered to the IAF in February 2024, with the rest slated to join its combat fleet by 2029. (File Photo)

During the review, Chaudhari described the LCA as the flag-bearer of the IAF’s efforts towards indigenisation of its aircraft fleet.

The IAF has inducted several of 40 earlier variants of the LCA, ordered 83 improved Mk-1A variants in 2021, and is now looking at ordering the newest variant of the aircraft, LCA Mk-2. The first Mk-1A aircraft will be delivered to the IAF in February 2024, with the rest slated to join its combat fleet by 2029. The LCA Mk-1A aircraft is expected to be deployed at forward bases.

Chaudhari said the project was of “national importance” and required all stakeholders “to adopt a collaborative approach towards its success.” The review was carried out at the Air Headquarters here on Tuesday, and attended by top officials of the defence ministry, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Aeronautical Development Agency.

The LCA programme has been the harbinger of Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives, the statement said. Of the earlier 40 LCA Mk1 planes, 32 aircraft have been delivered to the air force, and the remaining eight twin-seater trainers will be delivered in the coming months, HAL officials told the IAF chief during the review.

The IAF chief said 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 review, Chaudhari lauded the efforts of all stakeholders and underlined the need to incorporate the lessons learnt from the LCA programme into future indigenous design and development projects.

The IAF raised its first LCA squadron with two aircraft in July 2016 even though the project was sanctioned in 1983 as a replacement for the Soviet-origin MiG-21 fleet.

With timely deliveries of the more capable LCA Mk-1A variant, the aircraft is likely to see increased deployments at forward bases, the statement added.

In April, HAL launched a third LCA production line in Nashik to ramp up the production of the fighter jet from the current 16 to 24 in anticipation of more orders. The other two production lines are in Bengaluru.

In June, HAL signed a memorandum of understanding with its Argentine counterpart Fabrica Argentina de Aviones (FAdeA) for possible collaboration in the aerospace sector at a time when the Indian firm is in talks with the South American country to export the LCA amid India’s push to get a toehold in foreign defence markets.

Argentina has projected a requirement for 15 new fighter aircraft, and HAL believes that the LCA Mk-1A will meet that country’s needs. To be sure, the JF-17 fighter aircraft, jointly developed by China and Pakistan, is also a contender for the Argentine order.

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