Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd along with LCA Tejus suppliers during a meet resolved to increase the Indian made components in the Tejus fighter ...
The meet organised by HAL in Bangalore on Aug 12, involved vendors representing around 50 companies. Current indigenous components in the fighter stands at 60 percent.
DRDO chief Mr. Avinash Chander said it is possible to achieve such a goal since 165 out of 344 Line Replacement Units (LRUs) used in Tejus are already made by India.
Currently, the US made General Electric F404-GE-IN20 jet engine is the major foreign component. Other major imported components include the coherent pulse-Doppler Multi Mode Radar built with Israeli assistance and the British made Martin Baker ejection seat. In weaponary, the foreign memebers include the Russian R-73 E(qualified), and the Israeli built Python and Derby air to air missiles.
Tejus was granted the Initial Operational Clearance on 20th December 2013, following which Indian Air Force pilots were cleared to fly the aircraft. The Final Operational Clearance (FOC) was slated for 2014 end, but is expected to slip further to early 2015.
Meanwhile, roll out of the first production aircraft for squadron service has also slipped to 2015. The first of the 20 aircraft in IOC configuration on order by Indian Air Force was expected to be rolled out by now.
HAL Chairman, Dr. R.K. Tyagi, said the production of LCA is on track with the creation of dedicated production division at HAL Bangalore. “We are aiming to roll-out 16 LCAs every year from the initial target of eight per year.
The Tejus program began in the 1983 to replace India's aging MiG-21 fighters. It is the smallest lightweight, multi-role, single-engined tactical fighter aircraft in the world and is being developed in single seat fighter and twin seat trainer variants for Indian Air force and Indian Navy.
The tailless, compound delta wing aircraft is jointly developed by Aeronautical Development Agency- a DRDO lab and HAL.
HAL serves as the prime contractor and has leading responsibility for LCA design, systems integration, airframe manufacturing, aircraft final assembly, flight testing, and service support.
