IAF to get 2 Tejas Friday, combat role by 2017

Marking a watershed moment in the history of the Indian Air Force, on Friday, two gleaming indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) will be handed over to the force by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

With plans to have a total of six aircraft by March 2017, and about eight before March 2018, Tejas will be placed in combat roles next year besides being deployed in forward bases, sources in the Indian Air Force said.

Conceptualised in 1970s to replace the ageing MiG-21 fleet, with the indigenous design and development of the aircraft first sanctioned in 1983 at a cost of Rs 560 crore which was enhanced up to Rs 10,400 crore, the LCA had become a point of controversy over the inordinate time being taken.

Flying Daggers 45, the first Tejas squadron, will be based in Bengaluru for the first two years before being moved to Sulur in Tamil Nadu.

The sources asserted that the Tejas, which still has at least 19, mostly related to maintenance and easier operations, of the 43 deficiencies that the force had highlighted earlier, is “one of the exceptional single-engine fighter aircraft in the world” and “better” when compared to the JF 17, jointly developed and built by Pakistan and China.

“It is a better one since it is mostly made of composite which makes it light and very agile. It also comes with smart ammunitions and bombs which help it to hit targets in a precise manner,” a source said.

Besides being used for air-to-air fights and grou-nd attacks, the Indian Air Force plan is to use the Tejas also as a compliment to bigger fighter planes such as Su30 MKI.

A typical Tejas squadron would comprise 20 aircraft, including four in reserve. While 20 would be inducted under the “initial operational clearance”, another 20 will be inducted later.

Sources said the LCA will not be flown by India’s first women fighter pilots as only experienced pilots will be flying them initially.

About 80 more upgraded version with better specifications, called Tejas 1A, will also be inducted. With active electrically scanned array radar, unified electronic warfare suite, mid-air refuelling capacity and advanced BVR missiles, the upgraded version will cost between Rs 275 crore and Rs 300 crore.

Other important features of the Tejas include helmet-mounted display, fly-by-wire capability, and a semi-automatic and computer-regulated system for controlling flight. At 33 fighter squadrons at present, the IAF currently is woefully short of the critical requirement of 42 squadrons.