Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel will finally get to fly indigenous fighter jet light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas for training purposes as the craft is all set to acquire its initial operational clearance (IOC) by the end of this month.
The fighter jet had its maiden flight seven years ago.
Bangalore-based Aeronautical Development Agency, the body which monitors the LCA programme, has set December 27 as the deadline.
This will coincide with the first flight of the naval version of the LCA-Tejas aircraft.
IOC will allow IAF to have the aircraft inducted in its squadrons and its personnel to fly the aircraft for training purposes.
An IOC-declared fighter is ready to perform all functions except go to the battle field. Only after the final operational clearance (FOC) does an aircraft become battle-worthy, as FOC certifies an aircraft for weapon delivery. An FOC may take a year to two years after the IOC.
Former air chief FH Major told DNA, “It’s a milestone indeed for the IAF to achieve the IOC for Tejas. Even an IOC-declared aircraft can perform all functions, especially training-flying, but can’t be sent into battle as it is not fully weapons-certified.” The R-73 is the chosen air-to-air close combat missile for Tejas.
The LCA programme, which began in 1983, produced its first prototype vehicle in 2003. The programme began with an aim to replace the aging MiG-21 fighters but has suffered a record delay and cost overruns of over 10 times.
The project which was conceptualised in the early 1980s was sanctioned Rs2,188 crore for its phase-1 development in June 1993. The phase-two of the programme was sanctioned in November 2001 at a cost of Rs3,302 crore. The programme has so far completed 872 test flights on six aircraft.
