 "Atmanirbhar Bharat: HAL hands over first LCA Tejas twin-seater aircraft to Indian Air Force")
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first LCA Tejas twin seater aircraft to the Indian Air Force Wednesday. The twin seater variant has all the capabilities to support the training requirements of the IAF and augments itself to the role of fighter as well in case of necessity, the company said. IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari said, “We have now signed a contract for 83 additional LCA (Light Combat Aircraft) and we are moving forward to procuring 97 more LCAs. In the coming years, we will have a fleet of 220 LCAs in the inventory of the Indian Air Force. It is a matter of pride for the country.”
Union Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt was the chief guest during the function wherein the unveiling of the LCA twin seater, handing over of Release to Service (RSD), Signalling out Certificate (SOC) were conducted in the presence of Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, among others. The LCA Tejas twin seater is a light weight, all weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft. It is an amalgamation of contemporary concepts and technologies, such as relaxed static-stability, quadraplex fly-by-wire flight control, carefree manoeuvring, advanced glass cockpit, integrated digital avionics systems and advanced composite materials for the airframe, HAL said. This adds India to the list of “very few” elite countries who have created such capabilities and have them operational in their Defence Forces, it said, adding, it’s another feather on the cap of “Atmanirbhar Bharat” initiative of the Government of India. “This historic event today will mark the achievement of a key milestone of producing an LCA twin seater which is designed with a strategic intent of graduating the budding pilots from the twin seater variants to fighter pilots”, HAL said. HAL has an order of 18 twin seaters from IAF and is planning to deliver eight of them during 2023-24. The remaining 10 would be delivered progressively by 2026-27. Further, more orders are also expected from IAF, the company said. With inputs from PTI.