Tejas for Air Force: Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha seals it with a flight

BENGALURU: When made-in-India 'Tejas' fighter jet kissed the skies over Bengaluru on Tuesday, a Top Gun-IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha-not only created history but also gave the country's air strike wing a 'Thumbs Up' about the aircraft ahead of formation of the first squadron.  

The first Chief of Air Staff to fly an indigenous military jet, Air Chief Marshal Raha carried out simulated air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks besides the steep climbs, rolls and other aerobatic maneuvers during a 30 minute sortie in the twin-seat trainer version of 'Tejas'. "It is a good aircraft for induction into IAF operations," was how he summed up the jet's performance as he disembarked at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) airport.

'Tejas', which has clocked close to 3,000 hours of flawless flights and demonstrated its prowess at Bahrain international air show in January 2016, joined the IAF's fleet in January 2015. "Today's flight is significant because Air Chief Marshal Raha has demonstrated his confidence in a modern fighter designed and made in India," said Dr V.S. Arunachalam, former scientific adviser to the defence minister, who launched the project in mid-80s.   

"It is a morale boosting gesture from the IAF Chief that reposes great confidence of our valuable customer in our abilities," remarked T Suvarna Raju, Chairman & Managing Director, HAL.

Sources in HAL said a mini squadron of four 'Tejas' aircraft would be formed by July this year, but the full squadron would be based in Sulur, Tamil Nadu, next year. As per the production plan, six aircraft would be made this year and HAL would subsequently scale it up to eight and 16 aircraft per year.

The Tejas

• Originally called Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), the fighter was christened ‘Tejas’ by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee.
• The IAF has ordered for 40 of these fighters, but the number could increase many fold in the near future. The order will include the two-seater trainer variant.
• The Indian Navy has evinced interest in ‘Tejas’ as a replacement of ‘Sea Harriers’ which were decommissioned recently.
• Soon after its debut at Bahrain international air show, Egypt and Sri Lanka have evinced interest in acquiring ‘Tejas’