Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army, General Bipin Rawat on Thursday, 21 February, took to the skies in the indigenous LCA Tejas combat aircraft at the ongoing Aero India show at Yelahanka Air Force Station, north of Bengaluru.
After the 30-minute jet ride, Rawat said that his flight in the Tejas was the experience of a lifetime. Calling it a wonderful aircraft, he said that the Tejas will be a good addition to the Air Force's air power.
“Flight in LCA Tejas was an experience of a lifetime. From what I could witness, avionics are very good, it’s targeting is very good. It’s a wonderful aircraft if it gets added to inventory it will increase our air power.”Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army Staff
“We did normal manoeuvres. We did not do a loop,” he said.
The army chief's flight in the Tejas came a day after the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) – the regulator for military aviation gave a Final Operation Clearance (FOC) to the home-grown fighter, clearing way for its induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF).
The FOC was handed over to Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal BS Dhanoa on Wednesday, 20 February at the Aero India show itself. FOC involves addition of key capabilities to the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) aircraft which are Beyond Visual Range Missile capabilities.
General Rawat was seen in the seat behind the pilot in the two-seater trainer variant of the aircraft.
The state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is ramping up production to deliver 16 of them for the Indian Air Force (IAF) operational fleet by this year-end, a top official said on Thursday, IANS reported.
“We plan to deliver 16 LCAs to the IAF in the FOC configuration by this year-end and remaining four next year as we have increased the production capacity with an upfront investment of Rs 1,380 crore in our Bengaluru complex.”HAL Chairman R Madhavan to IANS
The HAL-maunfactured Tejas is capable of carrying a range of weapons and fired them with precision at the target.
The aircraft performed air-to-air refuelling and air-to-ground attacks at the Air Force's Vayu Shakti air display at Pokhran in Rajasthan on 16 February.
Initial Operational Clearance for the aircraft was given in 2013 and IOC standard Aircraft were inducted into IAF No 45 Squadron in July 2016, PTI reported.
The IAF squadron has since flown over 1,500 sorties successfully on the aircraft.
The Army Chief, General Bipin Rawat, also flew the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) during the ongoing Aero India at Air Force Station, Yelahanka. The helicopter was piloted by Wg Cdr S John, HAL’s Test Pilot.
Terming the sortie in LCH as the experience of a lifetime, he said it is suitable for the Army to take on adversaries in any terrain and at different altitudes.
Unlike Tejas, the army has committed to buy five LCH helicopters, for which a defence acquisition council approval has been accorded.
(With inputs from PTI, IANS and ANI)
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