LCA Tejus Successfully Hits Aerial Target

Tejas, India’s first indigenously designed developed and productionised 4th generation+ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) achieved yet another m...

Tejas, India’s first indigenously designed developed and productionised 4th generation+ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) achieved yet another milestone on Saturday by successfully destroying a towed aerial target with a infrared air to air missile, probably the Russian Vymbel R-73.
This is the maiden target hit with a missile by Tejus, eventhough it has fired it many times before.

The test was conducted off the coast of Goa in Arabian Sea, and has taken the aircraft a step closer to its induction into Indian Air Force. Tejas, one of its kind combat aircraft, has been developed by DRDO with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Bengaluru, as the lead laboratory and HAL as the production partner.
Avinash Chander, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Secretary, Dept of Defence R&D congratulating the team said “with this launch of missile from Tejas and successfully hitting the target in the first shot, we have demonstrated the total weapon system capability of LCA Tejas”.
Tejas has been undergoing weapon release flight tests, for its operational clearance. As a prelude, Gp Capt Suneet Krishna, flying the Tejas aircraft commanded Infrared seeker missile through the fire control radar of the aircraft to lock on to the target. The target was towed by a pilotless target aircraft ‘Lakshya’ also designed and developed by DRDO’s another premier lab, ‘Aeronautics Development Establishment’ (ADE), Bengaluru developed pilotless target aircraft (PTA). The target mounted on Lakshya was launched by a ship of the Indian Navy off the west coast of India.

A team from the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC), Aeronautical Development Agency, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, ADE (DRDO), CEMILAC, DGAQA and the Indian Navy worked in perfect unison to achieve this feat.
Tejas is a lightweight multi-role single engined jet fighter with a tailless, compound delta wing designed to replace India's aging MiG-21 fighters.