LCA Tejas ( तेजस् ) is a lightweight multirole jet fighter developed by India. It is a tailless, compound delta wing design powered by a single engine. It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which was begun in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. India's indigenous light combat aircraft - LCA was christened Tejas (Radiance) by Former Prime Minister of India - Atal Bihari Vajpayee in June 2004. All news , updates and discussion regarding Light Combat Aircraft - LCA TEJAS will go here. Jai Hind
Boeing delaying consultancy for Tejas programme BY : THE HINDU The Bush administration seems to be dragging its feet over giving the go-ahead to Boeing providing consultancy for the light combat aircraft, Tejas, programme. The consultancy, offered to the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which is designing and developing the Tejas), will run for 42 months. It envisages Boeing, which has sufficient experience on flight test programmes like its F-18 Hornet, providing the ADA with crucial inputs on flight tests that would help in avoiding unnecessary flights, saving costs and shortening of the design and development phases. Only consultancy: ADA Though U.S. laws concerning sale/consultancy in areas of defence have to necessarily be cleared by the U.S. Department of State, ADA officials are surprised that the consultancy has run aground. They say it is only in the form of assistance and no equipment is being sought for the Tejas. Boeing has stipulated that the Tejas should not be sold to any other country without the permission of the U.S. government. According to senior ADA officials, this stipulation is unacceptable, as the consultancy entails only assistance in flight testing. Said an official: “We can’t understand why the U.S. government is making a big thing out of something like a consultancy programme in flight testing. It is strange that it is being linked to the possible sale of the aircraft [Tejas]. This does not augur well for the seriousness of American weapons/defence corporation with India.†When contacted, a Boeing spokesperson in India said that the company would “continue to engage in discussions with the Government of India on how [they] may be able to contribute to the Light Combat Aircraft program.†The spokesperson did not wish to comment on Boeing’s stipulation, only saying that it was “something best answered by ADA.†The ADA, which has a firm order for 20 Tejas aircraft from the Air Force and hopes to get an order for another 20, is hoping to obtain initial operational clearance for the aircraft in 2010-11, according to its revised schedule.
LCA to be fitted with Israeli multi-mode radar The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will, after years of delay, soon be fitted with its primary mission sensor, the multi-mode radar (MMR).
LCA to be delivered by 2011: Antony BY : ANI Union Defence Minister A K Antony today said that the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) would be delivered to the Indian Air Force by 2011. Talking to media during his visit at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Antony said, "The final operational clearances for the indigenously developed aircraft will be given by 2010." Antony, who also witnessed an air show in which latest aircraft including LCA, Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and SARAS showed their capabilities and strength, said that LCA and ALH 'Dhruv' would be the prized induction in Air Force. He also cleared all doubts about the engine used in LCA and the development of engine 'Kaveri' and the LCA prototype will take place simultaneously. Expressing happiness over the functioning of the ALH, the Chief of the Air Staff, F.H. Major said that the process of weaponisation of the helicopter is taking place and the process is on.
India's Light Combat Aircraft tests its teeth At 3 pm on February 7, 2009, it was "all systems go" at the Aeronautical Development Agency in Bangalore, the organisation developing India's Light Combat Aircraft. I sat by the runway, watching two Tejas fighters, as the LCA is named, carrying out pre-flight checks before leaving for a crucial mission. After over 1,000 hours of test flights over several years, the Tejas was checking out its teeth and claws by dropping bombs on a ground target. Group Captain R Tyagi, in the lead Tejas, was to fly several hundred kilometres and attack a ground target. The tarmac outside his air-conditioned cockpit was blistering, as his onboard health-monitoring systems conducted self-checks, a crucial six-minute operation to ensure that his engines, controls and electronics were functioning normally. Just metres away, naval test pilot Captain Jaideep Maolankar, sat in another Tejas fighter, carrying out the same checks. Jaideep would perform the role of "chase aircraft", flying alongside Tyagi's aircraft and observing every step of the mission. In addition, a high-speed camera was tracking Tyagi's bomb pod, clicking hundreds of frames every second. With a surprising lack of fuss, the two aircraft revved up their engines and taxied out to the runway. I put my hands over my ears as the fighter engines roared into a crescendo and both the aircraft took off, first Tyagi and then Maolankar in quick succession, banking to the right and then quickly out of sight. The pilots were now physically alone in their cockpits, but they had lots of company over the radio. At the end of the runway was the Telemetry Centre of the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC), tracking every moment of the mission. Each aircraft, from the time it started up, was being monitored in detail, the data transmitting live from the aircraft over a high-speed data link. Eleven critical aircraft systems, such as the fuel system, hydraulics and flight controls, were being watched by eleven engineers, each responsible for one particular system. There was a senior flight test engineer, designated the test director, watching each of the two aircraft; beside him sat another test pilot, called the safety pilot, continuously monitored what the aircraft pilot was seeing. Anything went wrong and the test director would alert the pilot. In a serious emergency, he made the split-second decisions that could spell life or death. "It's a bit like Formula One racing," explained Wing Commander Aslam Khan, the test director. "The driver, or in this case the pilot, is concentrating too hard on his mission to worry about how the aircraft systems are doing, or about what is happening outside. So we watch those and tell the pilot over radio." As the two Tejas aircraft approached the range, the Telemetry Centre cleared Group Captain Tyagi to release his weapons. Flying just 70 metres away, Captain Maolankar watched carefully as Tyagi's bombs were released; it was easy for him to see the white-coloured bombs as they headed down towards the target. Back at the Telemetry Centre, they replayed the live footage from the high-speed camera to check that the bombs had been released cleanly. The data would be examined in detail over days, but for now it was a successful test; the aircraft headed back to the base. One more phase of the LCA test flight programme was proceeding smoothly. The NTFC is reputed to be among the best test flight centres in the world. So far, not a single accident has marred the LCA programme, a perfect record compared to fighter development programmes in most other countries. "This centre has been set up entirely indigenously," explains Air Commodore Rohit Varma, who heads the LCA flight testing. "Also, unlike other countries where test pilots are retired airmen, our test pilots are all serving pilots, bringing in contemporary experience of our operating environment." (Thanks to Rediff for an immediate update on this good news) Reportage: Ajai Shukla on Rediff.com http://www.rediff.com/news/2009/feb/11india-light-combat-aircraft-tests-its-teeth.htm
still a ........long way to go!!!! Are we trying to create a good dependable fighter aircraft or a world class fighter testing centre ?. How long should we wait for a fourth generation a/c, while the western countries are already into fifth generation and CUAVs.
LCA is a 4.5 gen fighter and it will be replacing Mig-21s due to retire within few years. IAF has ordered LCA-mk1, about 40 of them, for probably training purposes. LCA-mk2 will have some new perks that will replace MIG-21s. India is also working on Fifth Gen fighter as well called PAK-FA with Russia.
LCA-Tejas project gets another Rs 8000 crore What Tejas wants, Tejas gets. The much-delayed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme will get an additional funding of Rs 8,000 Tejas, India’s effort at building an indigenous trainer — in the making since 1983 — will obtain initial operational clearance by the year-end. The government had spent Rs 4,800 crore on the LCA programme till 2009-end. There has been all-round scepticism of the project over its inordinate delay. Experts have questioned the wisdom of continuing it, and dubbed it a total failure. But defence minister AK Antony on Tuesday strongly defended the LCA programme. ‘‘Today I can assure you with confidence... I can declare at last LCA is going to be a reality,’’ he said. Dismissing all criticism about the project taking close to three decades, he said that all agencies involved strongly believed in LCA. The Centre would back the development team’s demands. Maintaining that LCA had to undergo rigorous trials before it became a complete fighting machine, Antony said the development of a new aircraft was not easy; the gestation period is very long. ‘‘Don’t expect miracles. Our expectation is to give a momentum for indigenization.’’ Admitting that Tejas still has a long way to go, he expressed confidence it will get final operational clearance by end of 2012. The Indian Air Force has already ordered 20 LCAs and expressed interest in ordering another 20 aircraft. Antony said the government is in talks with parties abroad for the development of an engine for Tejas. On for 27 yrs, LCA project gets Rs 8,000 crore more - Times of India
India declares indigenous combat jet a success India's defence minister announced Tuesday that a much-delayed project to build an indigenous supersonic combat aircraft was a success. The jets are intended to become the country's front line combat plane by 2020. A.K. Antony told reporters the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) -- billed by India as the world's smallest warjet -- would be cleared for limited flights by the end of 2010. "Today I can declare that at last the LCA is going to be a reality," Antony said in the southern city of Bangalore where the locally built plane had been on the design board since 1983 when the multi-billion dollar project began. The minister said the aircraft, powered by engines supplied by US-based General Electrics, would be ready for full induction into the military by 2012. "All the doubting Thomases have proved to be wrong," Antony said, referring to skeptics who doubted that the combat jet would ever take off. Antony said the Indian Air Force had already placed an initial order for 20 of the jets. Although the first LCA prototype rolled out in 1995, the project hit an air pocket three years later when the United States and other Western governments slapped a slew of sanctions on India in retaliation for its 1998 nuclear tests. The LCA Tejas won the nickname "last chance aircraft" because of the delays. India's first attempt in the 1950s to make an indigenous fighter plane failed after it built a limited number of ground attack planes that fell far short of military specifications. India declares indigenous combat jet a success - Yahoo! News
Tehelka - India's Independent Weekly News Magazine LCAs ready to be cleared for IAF induction by January The aircraft meant to replace the MiG -21s took its last flight before operational clearance BY Ritu Sharma Delhi India's indigenous fighter jet light combat aircraft (LCA) - Tejas -- which has been in the making for over 25 years now, is finally being readied for induction in the Indian Air Force (IAF). The initial operational clearance (IOC) is expected in early January. Inching closer towards its induction, the fly-by-wire, multi-role supersonic aircraft, on Wednesday took to the skies to drop a bomb at the newly commissioned aeronautical test range at Chitradurga, some 200 km away from Bangalore. "This was the last flight of the LCA before it gets an IOC," an official of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media. "The IOC would pave the way for its induction into the IAF," he added. Only after the IOC, can a "weaponised" aircraft be handed over to the IAF for squadron duty. The IAF has placed orders for 20 LCAs. In the run up to the clearance, Tejas has completed all test points for low level flights, off the coast of Goa. It has also conducted operations in the extreme climate of Leh and operated from an IAF airbase in the southwestern air command area. "At first four aircraft will operate from Bangalore," an IAF officer said. "If there are any teething problems, they could be rectified by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)," the officer said. The first LCA squadron would be raised in Sulur air base in Tamil Nadu. The current version of Tejas fighter is equipped with a single GE F404 afterburning turbofan engine developed by General Electric Co (GE). The LCA programme was launched in 1983 primarily to replace the Russian vintage MiG-21 combat jets which had to be replaced by the 1990s. However, chronic delay in the LCA programme ensured that IAF could maintain only 33.5 squadrons instead its sanctioned strength of 39. This also delayed the phasing out of MiG-21s or "flying coffins", as they are called, because of their poor safety record. The IAF had also looked for foreign vendors to provide 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA). The first prototype Tejas took off only in 2001, however, the inability of research bodies to provide engines with the right configuration failed to provide the requisite thrust. The indigenous Kaveri engine has been under development since 1986 at the Bangalore-based Gas Turbine and Research Establishment (GTRE). According to estimates the Kaveri engine would be installed on the LCA only by 2012 and that, too, at a revised cost of Rs 2,839 crore, almost eight times the projected development cost of Rs 382 crore in 1989. The delay also caused a cost escalation in the LCA project. The final cost of the project is Rs 5,777.56 crore against the initial cost of Rs 3301.78 crore.
LCA Tejas Inducted into Indian Air force India on 10th of January joined the select club of Nations making a fighter jet from scratch when IAF flew for the first time the lightweight indigenous multi-role Light Combat Aircraft Tejas in a clear wintry sky for initial operational clearance . Defence Minister of India A K Antony handed over the service certificate of the world's smallest military aircraft to Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal P V Naik in the presence of top Indian defence and Indian government officials. The supersonic fourth generation fighter will form a 200-strong fleet for the Indian Air Force to replace the aging Russia made MiG-21 fleet and increase the squadron strength as a potent Indian strike force by yr 2012. source : IAF flies homegrown LCA Tejas fighter Jet LCA Tejas flies, but IAF dithers After Tejas jets screamed overhead on a cloudless Monday morning, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik sought to adopt cautious optimism, claiming that the country’s first light combat aircraft (LCA) had a long way to go before his men are able to fly it. Bringing some cheer for team Tejas, Air Marhsal Naik described the LCA as a “MiG-21++”. Responding to a query on whether the aircraft, which was being developed to replace the aging MiG-21s, was good, he said: “Having checked and compared the endurance, performance, load carrying capacity, weapons delivering ability, accuracy, avionics and the radars, I think it is a MiG-21++.” Appreciating the team he said that projects of such magnitude were always difficult to execute and the IOC was, after having read and heard about Tejas for over two decades, “a dream come true. The untiring efforts need to be complimented.” htt p://www .deccanherald. com/content/127868/tejas-flies-iaf-dithers.html
