IAF inducts first squadron of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Reaching a major milestone in military aviation, the Indian Air Force on Friday launched the first squadron of 'Made-in-India' Light Combat Aircraft Tejas fighter jets.
LCA will eventually replace the ageing fleet of MiG-21 planes.
The LCA squadron-induction ceremony was held at the Aircraft System Testing Establishment in Bengaluru in the presence of Air Marshal Jasbir Walia, Air Officer Commanding-in Chief, Southern Air Command.
A Tejas aircraft flown by Commanding Officer Group Captain Madhav Rangachari performed a sortie during the induction ceremony, attended by Air Marshal Jasbir Walia, Air Officer Commanding-in Chief, Southern Air Command and senior HAL executives.
The commissioning of the India-made fighter planes comes more than three decades after LCA went into development.
The aircraft was named "Tejas" (meaning radiance in Sanskrit) by Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister. The squadron will be based in Bengaluru for the first two years before it is moved to Sulur in Tamil Nadu.
A 'Sarva Dharma Pooja' (inter-faith prayer) was conducted before the induction. Such worships are customary at inductions and before staff training sessions, according to ANI reports.
Air Force personnel break coconuts as a traditional ritual to bring good luck. (Photo: Twitter/ANI)
Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha, who on May 17 took his maiden flight in Tejas, had given the thumbs up to the "desi" aircraft, terming it "good" for induction.
IAF, which plans to induct six aircraft this financial year and about eight in the next, has said Tejas will feature in its combat plan next year and would be deployed in forward bases also.
Read: Induction of Tejas fills our hearts will unparalleled pride: PM
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier this month said here "next year I think two MiG-21 squadrons are being decommissioned. This will go into initially replacing them."
"LCAs are better than MiGs which are old and parts are difficult to get," he had said.
All squadrons of Tejas will be made up of 20 planes, including four in reserve.
As per the plan, 20 would be inducted under the "Initial Operational Clearance" and another 20 later with Beyond Visual Range Missile (BVR) and certain other features.
Read: Manohar Parrikar lauds HAL, ADA on induction of Tejas planes
IAF plans to induct over 80 aircraft with better specifications known as Tejas 1A.
The upgraded version of Tejas, with Active Electrically Scanned Array Radar, Unified Electronic Warfare Suite, mid-air refuelling capacity and advanced BVRs, will cost between Rs 275 crore and Rs 300 crore.
The idea to have an indigenous fighter aircraft was conceptualised in the 1970s, but actual work started on the aircraft project only in the 1980s.
The first flight took place in January 2001 after the project often ran into rough weather and came in for criticism over delay.
