Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today flew on Indian Air Force’s fighter jet Tejas at the Defence Public Sector Undertaking, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), in Bengaluru.
After successfully completing his sortie, he shared his experience on X: “Successfully completed a sortie on the Tejas. The experience was incredibly enriching, significantly bolstering my confidence in our country’s indigenous capabilities, and leaving me with a renewed sense of pride and optimism about our national potential.”
Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is a 4.5 generation, all-weather and multi-role fighter aircraft, which is the smallest and lightest fully missile-equipped aircraft in its class. It is designed to be a multi-role aircraft capable of taking up offensive air support, close combat and ground attack roles at ease. It is also designed to undertake Ground Maritime Operations. The United States recently inked a pact with the HAL to manufacture Mark II Tejas aircraft jointly. Earlier this year, the IAF and the Defence Ministry signed a contract with HAL to procure Tejas aircraft, including all its variants.
The different variants of aircraft under production and development are:
• Single-seater fighter for Air Force
• Single-seater fighter for Navy
• Twin-seater trainer aircraft for Air Force
• Twin-seater trainer version for Navy
Further LCA Mk1A is the most advanced version of the LCA Tejas. It is equipped with AESA Radar, EW suite consisting of radar warning and self-protection jamming, Digital Map Generator (DMG), Smart Multi-function Displays (SMFD), Combined Interrogator and Transponder (CIT), Advanced Radio Altimeter and other advanced features, according to HAL.
– global bihari bureau
