Thread: LCA TEJAS NEWS and discussion

What Tejas wants, Tejas gets. The much-delayed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme will get an additional funding of Rs 8,000

Tejas, India’s effort at building an indigenous trainer — in the making since 1983 — will obtain initial operational clearance by the year-end. The government had spent Rs 4,800 crore on the LCA programme till 2009-end.

There has been all-round scepticism of the project over its inordinate delay. Experts have questioned the wisdom of continuing it, and dubbed it a total failure. But defence minister AK Antony on Tuesday strongly defended the LCA programme. ‘‘Today I can assure you with confidence... I can declare at last LCA is going to be a reality,’’ he said.

Dismissing all criticism about the project taking close to three decades, he said that all agencies involved strongly believed in LCA. The Centre would back the development team’s demands.

Maintaining that LCA had to undergo rigorous trials before it became a complete fighting machine, Antony said the development of a new aircraft was not easy; the gestation period is very long. ‘‘Don’t expect miracles. Our expectation is to give a momentum for indigenization.’’ Admitting that Tejas still has a long way to go, he expressed confidence it will get final operational clearance by end of 2012. The Indian Air Force has already ordered 20 LCAs and expressed interest in ordering another 20 aircraft. Antony said the government is in talks with parties abroad for the development of an engine for Tejas.

On for 27 yrs, LCA project gets Rs 8,000 crore more - Times of India

India's defence minister announced Tuesday that a much-delayed project to build an indigenous supersonic combat aircraft was a success.

The jets are intended to become the country's front line combat plane by 2020.

A.K. Antony told reporters the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) -- billed by India as the world's smallest warjet -- would be cleared for limited flights by the end of 2010.

"Today I can declare that at last the LCA is going to be a reality," Antony said in the southern city of Bangalore where the locally built plane had been on the design board since 1983 when the multi-billion dollar project began.

The minister said the aircraft, powered by engines supplied by US-based General Electrics, would be ready for full induction into the military by 2012.

"All the doubting Thomases have proved to be wrong," Antony said, referring to skeptics who doubted that the combat jet would ever take off.

Antony said the Indian Air Force had already placed an initial order for 20 of the jets.

Although the first LCA prototype rolled out in 1995, the project hit an air pocket three years later when the United States and other Western governments slapped a slew of sanctions on India in retaliation for its 1998 nuclear tests.

The LCA Tejas won the nickname "last chance aircraft" because of the delays.

India's first attempt in the 1950s to make an indigenous fighter plane failed after it built a limited number of ground attack planes that fell far short of military specifications.

India declares indigenous combat jet a success - Yahoo! News

Tehelka - India's Independent Weekly News Magazine
LCAs ready to be cleared for IAF induction by January

The aircraft meant to replace the MiG -21s took its last flight before operational clearance

BY Ritu Sharma
Delhi

India's indigenous fighter jet light combat aircraft (LCA) - Tejas -- which has been in the making for over 25 years now, is finally being readied for induction in the Indian Air Force (IAF). The initial operational clearance (IOC) is expected in early January.

Inching closer towards its induction, the fly-by-wire, multi-role supersonic aircraft, on Wednesday took to the skies to drop a bomb at the newly commissioned aeronautical test range at Chitradurga, some 200 km away from Bangalore.

"This was the last flight of the LCA before it gets an IOC," an official of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. "The IOC would pave the way for its induction into the IAF," he added.

Only after the IOC, can a "weaponised" aircraft be handed over to the IAF for squadron duty. The IAF has placed orders for 20 LCAs.

In the run up to the clearance, Tejas has completed all test points for low level flights, off the coast of Goa. It has also conducted operations in the extreme climate of Leh and operated from an IAF airbase in the southwestern air command area.

"At first four aircraft will operate from Bangalore," an IAF officer said. "If there are any teething problems, they could be rectified by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)," the officer said.

The first LCA squadron would be raised in Sulur air base in Tamil Nadu. The current version of Tejas fighter is equipped with a single GE F404 afterburning turbofan engine developed by General Electric Co (GE).

The LCA programme was launched in 1983 primarily to replace the Russian vintage MiG-21 combat jets which had to be replaced by the 1990s. However, chronic delay in the LCA programme ensured that IAF could maintain only 33.5 squadrons instead its sanctioned strength of 39. This also delayed the phasing out of MiG-21s or "flying coffins", as they are called, because of their poor safety record.

The IAF had also looked for foreign vendors to provide 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA).

The first prototype Tejas took off only in 2001, however, the inability of research bodies to provide engines with the right configuration failed to provide the requisite thrust.

The indigenous Kaveri engine has been under development since 1986 at the Bangalore-based Gas Turbine and Research Establishment (GTRE). According to estimates the Kaveri engine would be installed on the LCA only by 2012 and that, too, at a revised cost of Rs 2,839 crore, almost eight times the projected development cost of Rs 382 crore in 1989.

The delay also caused a cost escalation in the LCA project. The final cost of the project is Rs 5,777.56 crore against the initial cost of Rs 3301.78 crore.

India on 10th of January joined the select club of Nations making a fighter jet from scratch when IAF flew for the first time the lightweight indigenous multi-role Light Combat Aircraft Tejas in a clear wintry sky for initial operational clearance .

Defence Minister of India A K Antony handed over the service certificate of the world's smallest military aircraft to Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P V Naik in the presence of top Indian defence and Indian government officials.

The supersonic fourth generation fighter will form a 200-strong fleet for the Indian Air Force to replace the aging Russia made MiG-21 fleet and increase the squadron strength as a potent Indian strike force by yr 2012.

source : IAF flies homegrown LCA Tejas fighter Jet


LCA Tejas flies, but IAF dithers

After Tejas jets screamed overhead on a cloudless Monday morning, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik sought to adopt cautious optimism, claiming that the country’s first light combat aircraft (LCA) had a long way to go before his men are able to fly it.

Bringing some cheer for team Tejas, Air Marhsal Naik described the LCA as a “MiG-21++”.

Responding to a query on whether the aircraft, which was being developed to replace the aging MiG-21s, was good, he said: “Having checked and compared the endurance, performance, load carrying capacity, weapons delivering ability, accuracy, avionics and the radars, I think it is a MiG-21++.”

Appreciating the team he said that projects of such magnitude were always difficult to execute and the IOC was, after having read and heard about Tejas for over two decades, “a dream come true. The untiring efforts need to be complimented.”

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