DRDO conducts first engine ground run of naval Light Combat Aircraft prototype

The country's first indigenous effort to build a carrier-borne naval fighter aircraft got a fillip with the crossing of another significant milestone of the first Engine Ground Run of the first Light Combat Aircraft (Navy) prototype NP1, DRDO said today.

The team steering LCA (Navy) project comprises members of Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, HAL, DRDO, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA), CSIR Labs, educational institutions, and other public and private sector partners, a Defence Research and Development Organisation statement said.

The first Engine Ground Run of NP1 aircraft, conducted at about 1830 hrs yesterday for its scheduled time, had the primary objective of checking aircraft to engine integration and activation of the various systems like flight control, hydraulics, fuel, electrical and avionics, which was successfully achieved, it said.

"The aircraft will now go through a phase of refinements based on feedback identified during the course of the build up and also observed during the EGR, followed by a series of final integration checks and taxi trials before its maiden flight shortly", DRDO said.