<p>The Navy is looking for a new fighter jet for its next aircraft carrier as it has given up on the naval version of the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA).<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The LCA Navy will not be able to make it for the (future) carrier. We now look for an alternate aircraft for the carrier. We don’t have too many options on the table and will have to take a decision in the next 5-6 years,” Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said here on Friday, a day ahead of the Navy Day.<br /><br />The Navy chief’s announcement may signal the end of the road for LCA Navy as the home-grown fighter in its present configuration cannot take off from an aircraft carrier’s deck with its full complement of weapons.<br /><br />“The MiG-29K will operate from the Vikrant (first Indian- built aircraft carrier). But we also need an alternate aircraft now. We are looking for it, as the LCA is not up to the mark yet. In the present form, the LCA cannot take off with its full weapon load,” he said.<br /><br />The first prototype of LCA Navy flew in December 2014, while the second prototype took to the skies in February 2015. The second aircraft addressed several deficiencies, which the HAL claimed was associated with the first one.<br /><br />But Admiral Lanba on Friday made it clear that the Navy was looking for an alternate platform to fly from the decks of the 65,000-tonne class Indigenous Air Carrier (IAC-2), which is on the drawing board at the moment.<br /><br />India procured 45 MiG-29K naval fighters from Russia for operations from INS Vikramaditya and Vikrant.<br /><br />For the LCA Navy, the GE 404 engine is too heavy leading to an unfavourable thrust-to-weight ratio for carrying the full weapon payload. All the prototype flights so far had taken place from the Navy’s shore-based testing facility in Goa without weapons.<br /><br />Navy officials said LCA Navy failed to match the timeline for Vikrant (IAC-1), which the Navy hoped to release by 2018. </p>
<p>The Navy is looking for a new fighter jet for its next aircraft carrier as it has given up on the naval version of the indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA).<br /><br /></p>.<p>“The LCA Navy will not be able to make it for the (future) carrier. We now look for an alternate aircraft for the carrier. We don’t have too many options on the table and will have to take a decision in the next 5-6 years,” Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba said here on Friday, a day ahead of the Navy Day.<br /><br />The Navy chief’s announcement may signal the end of the road for LCA Navy as the home-grown fighter in its present configuration cannot take off from an aircraft carrier’s deck with its full complement of weapons.<br /><br />“The MiG-29K will operate from the Vikrant (first Indian- built aircraft carrier). But we also need an alternate aircraft now. We are looking for it, as the LCA is not up to the mark yet. In the present form, the LCA cannot take off with its full weapon load,” he said.<br /><br />The first prototype of LCA Navy flew in December 2014, while the second prototype took to the skies in February 2015. The second aircraft addressed several deficiencies, which the HAL claimed was associated with the first one.<br /><br />But Admiral Lanba on Friday made it clear that the Navy was looking for an alternate platform to fly from the decks of the 65,000-tonne class Indigenous Air Carrier (IAC-2), which is on the drawing board at the moment.<br /><br />India procured 45 MiG-29K naval fighters from Russia for operations from INS Vikramaditya and Vikrant.<br /><br />For the LCA Navy, the GE 404 engine is too heavy leading to an unfavourable thrust-to-weight ratio for carrying the full weapon payload. All the prototype flights so far had taken place from the Navy’s shore-based testing facility in Goa without weapons.<br /><br />Navy officials said LCA Navy failed to match the timeline for Vikrant (IAC-1), which the Navy hoped to release by 2018. </p>
