Image Credit:ADA Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) carried out the maiden flight of the first series production (SP-1) Light Combat Aircraf...
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| Image Credit:ADA |
The SP-1 piloted by Air Cmde K.A. Muthana, (Retd) Chief Test Pilot, performed flawlessly during the 25 minute sortie, touching a maximum speed of 0.6 Mach, and completed basic maneuvers.
The successful flight boosted the confidence of program engineers, as this is the first Tejus to fly without any telemetry support. The onboard telemetry equipment were also absent.
The first flight was achieved within nine months after receiving the intial operational clearance (IOC) certification in December 2013 and within one year after receiving the build standard documents.
The other series production aircraft are in various stages of production at HAL's new assembly line in Bangalore. The Tejas production tolerances are as tight as 0.08 millimetres; and 0.2 millimetres for contoured (curved) parts.
The Tejus will be delivered to Indian Air Force, after completing the flight testing and will constitute the first combat squadron initialy based at Sulur air base in coimbatore.
The Final Operational Clearance (FOC) of Tejus which was slated for 2014 end, has further slipped to early 2015. The reason being delay in delivery of the aerial refueling probe from Cobham.
HAL plans to build 8 Tejas fighters annually by 2015-16, and the output be doubled to 16 Tejas per year from 2016-17. HAL has so far built 16 Tejas prototypes for the flight test and development phase. Each built to changing specifications.
Tejas is a single engined, light weight, highly agile, delta winged multi-role supersonic fighter. The aircraft is designed for air combat, offensive air support with reconnaissance and anti-ship as its secondary roles.
Extensive use of advanced composites in the airframe gives a high strength to weight ratio, long fatigue life and low radar signatures.
IAF signed contract for delivery of 20 LCA Tejas aircraft in IOC configuration in 2006. Another 20 will be delivered in the FOC configuration.The build standard documents for IOC aircraft were finalised in September 2013 and Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) was accorded in December 2013.
