In Photos: In a First, IAF Chief Flies Tejas Fighter Trainer

Air Force Chief takes a ride on Tejas, an indigenous Light Combat Aircraft.

The IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, on Tuesday flew a trainer version of the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) over Bengaluru, IAF spokesman Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee said.

Air Chief Marshal Raha became the first IAF chief to fly the home-grown fighter, designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and built by defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

It’s a good aircraft to fly and fit to be inducted into our fleet.

Air Chief Marshal Raha 

Air Chief Marshal Raha piloted the aircraft during the 30-minute sortie and conducted aerial manoeuvres to check its versatility. Raha, 61, is a qualified flying instructor and a fighter combat leader with 3,400 hours of flying experience.

As a fourth generation aircraft, Tejas can fly at 1,350 km per hour and is comparable to the world’s best fighters, including French Mirage 2000, American F-16 and Swedish Gripen.

Tejas weighs 8.5 tonnes and can carry three tonnes of weapons, including air-to-air missiles, laser-guided bombs, guns, conventional/retarded bombs and beyond-visual-range missiles.

(With agency inputs)