PM flies in LCA, endorses indigenous fighter programme
The development came weeks after IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari announced plans to order 97 more LCA Mk-1As at an estimated cost of Rs.67,000 crore. IAF ordered 83 Mk-1A fighters for Rs.48,000 crore in February 2021
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday flew in the light combat aircraft (LCA) in Bengaluru and described the experience as “incredibly enriching”, while also heaping praise on the country’s indigenous military capabilities.
The PM’s sortie in an LCA Mk-1 fighter jet is being seen as a significant endorsement of the LCA programme.
“Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country’s indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential,” Modi wrote on X after the flight.
The development has turned the spotlight on the locally produced fighter jet that the Indian Air Force is looking at inducting in big numbers, and India is also seeking to export. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari was in Bengaluru for the PM’s LCA sortie.
The development came weeks after Chaudhari announced plans to order 97 more LCA Mk-1As at an estimated cost of Rs.67,000 crore. IAF ordered 83 Mk-1A fighters for Rs.48,000 crore in February 2021.
“Flying in Tejas today, I can say with immense pride that due to our hard work and dedication, we are no less than anyone in the world in the field of self-reliance. Heartiest congratulations to the Indian Air Force, DRDO and HAL as well as all Indians,” the PM wrote on X.
This is the first time an Indian PM has flown a fighter aircraft sortie, IAF said in a statement.
The sortie was carried out from the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment, Bengaluru. During the 30-minute sortie, capabilities of the fighter aircraft were demonstrated to PM, the statement said.
PM Modi, who has given a strong impetus to Aatmanirbharta in defence manufacturing, applauded the scientists, engineers and flight test crew associated with the designing, development, and production of the state-of-the-art fighter aircraft, it added.
“Today’s sortie by PM will encourage the aeronautics ecosystem and give a big boost to Aatmanirbharta in defence sector.”
On October 4, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited handed over the first trainer version of LCA Mk-1 to Chaudhari in Bengaluru, with the twin seater set to fill a key training role and double as a fighter if needed.
The aircraft is part of an earlier order for 40 Mk-1 jets in the initial operational clearance (IOC) and the more advanced final operational clearance (FOC) configurations — the first variants of LCA. Of the 40 Mk-1s, IAF has inducted 32 single-seater jets and raised two LCA squadrons. The remaining eight aircraft are trainers. Seven more twin-seater aircraft will be delivered to IAF by March 2024.
LCA is set to emerge as the cornerstone of the IAF’s combat power in the coming decade and beyond. IAF, the world’s fourth largest air force, is expected to operate around 350 LCAs (Mk-1, Mk-1A and Mk-2 versions), with a third of those already ordered, some inducted, and the rest figuring prominently on the air force’s modernisation roadmap and expected to be contracted in the coming years.
The newer variants, Mk-1A and Mk-2, will come with significantly improved features and technologies over the Mk-1 aircraft.
HAL has the capacity to build 16 LCA Mk-1As every year in Bengaluru and a new production line in Nashik line will help the firm ramp up production to a total of 24 jets.
The first Mk-1A will be delivered to IAF in February 2024, and the last of the 83 jets by 2028 (instead of 2029, the contracted delivery schedule). The new plant in Nashik will help advance deliveries.
IAF will deploy LCAs at forward air bases in the western sector to bolster its combat readiness against Pakistan and fill the gap left by the gradual phasing out of the Soviet-era MiG-21 fighter jets, as first reported by HT.
An LCA-Mk 1 squadron based at Sulur in Tamil Nadu is set to be relocated to a frontline fighter base in Gujarat, while the first LCA Mk-1A squadron will be raised at an air base in Rajasthan.
IAF is expected to begin raising the LCA Mk-1A squadron after HAL delivers the first aircraft to it early next year.