IAF's enthusiasm for Tejas remains muted

On a day India’s fourth-generation light combat aircraft, Tejas, got the initial operational clearance (IOC), the Indian Air Force (IAF) seems unconvinced of its capabilities.

“It is not yet a fourth-generation fighter. It’s still a MiG 21++,” said Air Chief Marshal P V Naik, chief of air staff. The endurance, performance, load carrying capacity and navigation, among other operational aspects of the aircraft, need to undergo more tests before it can prove itself, the IAF chief said.

Yet, he called the programme a dream come true. Tejas, a fourth generation fly-by-wire supersonic combat aircraft, is expected to replace the 200 ageing MiG-21s. Since 1985, India has felt the need for such an aircraft, he said.

Touted as the smallest supersonic fighter aircraft in the world, it costs Rs180-200 crore for its fighter versions and Rs210 crore for the trainer versions. The project had seen cost overruns of Rs2,748 crore. Post clearance, the LCA will undertake several flying missions before obtaining its Final Operational Clearance to be finally inducted into service — most probably by the end of 2012, ministry officials said. The full operational clearance iss expected to take a few more years, he added. As India’s much-awaited project, the LCA design and development was initiated in 1983 with a budget of Rs560 crore and was christened ‘Tejas’ in 2004 by the then President A P J Abdul Kalam.