HAL hands over first LCA Tejas twin-seater aircraft to Air Force

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited handed over the first twin-seater trainer variant of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas to the Indian Air Force here on Wednesday.
The aircraft was handed over in the presence of Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt. 

The MoS said the LCA Tejas programme symbolises India’s journey towards self-reliance in defence manufacturing. Lauding HAL for spearheading indigenous manufacturing in the sector, Bhatt said the development of LCA marked a shift in the country’s approach to defence procurement.

“It has demonstrated that India has the talent, knowledge and capability to design, develop and manufacture world-class fighters”, he said. The MoS said the development of Tejas spurred growth in India’s defence and aerospace industry and opened opportunities for SMEs, research institutions and skilled workers.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari said IAF would procure 97 more LCA fighters. He said with these procurements, the IAF eyes an expansion of its LCA fleet to 220.  

The LCA Tejas twin-seater is a light-weight, all-weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft designed to support IAF’s training requirements and if needed, augment itself to the role of a fighter.
The aircraft is “an amalgamation of contemporary concepts” and technologies like relaxed static-stability, quadraplex fly-by-wire flight control, carefree manoeuvring, advanced glass cockpit, integrated digital avionics systems, and advanced composite materials for the airframe.

Delivery timeline

HAL CMD C B Ananthakrishnan said the company is committed to deliver all the twin-seater aircraft pertaining to the initial and full operational capability contracts with the IAF, in the current financial year. “With this, we are moving one step closer towards achieving self-sufficiency on the fixed wing segment. These trainers also ensure smooth transition for the pilots from trainer to fighter aircraft in this class”, he said.

The defence PSU is expected to deliver seven more trainers to the IAF by March 2024. It is developing, apart from the trainer, single-seater fighters for the IAF and the Navy, and twin-seater trainers for the Navy.