Tejas: From a flying machine to fighter aircraft

A quest which started in 2001 is about to end: Tejas, India’s indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA), completed its final lap to transform into a full-fledged combat aircraft—in Bangalore on Wednesday.

After its first flight on January 4, 2001, Tejas had successfully completed 1,452 test flights, with the last one here, where it undertook air-to-ground weapon and drop tank jettison trials. Now, it is awaiting an Initial Operational Clearance (IOC)—which is likely to be given on December 27.

It all took just 20 minutes: A Tejas PV-2 aircraft took off from the Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Agency and the National Flight Test Centre, where the LCA programme was born and brought up, hit the bulls-eye at the aeronautical test range facility in Kudapura Kaval near Chitradurga and returned to the Bangalore base.

Gp Capt (retd) RR Tyagi piloted the final test sortie and its was a huge success, said a DRDO official. Tejas can fly only for 45 minutes.

The Chitradurga facility will also serve as a test range for the unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and the unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) when it becomes fully operational in 2011.