Tejas Light Combat Aircraft missile hits target

Tejas, India's first indigenously designed developed and productionised fourth generation plus Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) achieved yet another milestone when at 11 a.m., its infrared air to air missile hit its designated target with precision.

The test, demonstrating required parameters was conducted off the coast of Goa in Arabian Sea, and has taken the aircraft closer to its induction in the Indian Air Force.

Tejas, one of its kind combat aircraft, has been developed by DRDO with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Bengaluru, as the lead laboratory and HAL as the production partner.

Avinash Chander, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and Secretary, Department of Defence (R and D), congratulating the team, said "with this launch of a missile from Tejas and successfully hitting the target in the first shot, we have demonstrated the total weapon system capability of LCA Tejas".

Tejas has been undergoing weapon release flight tests, for its operational clearance.

As a prelude today, Group Captain Suneet Krishna, flying the Tejas aircraft commanded Infrared seeker missile through the fire control radar of the aircraft to lock on to the target.

The target was towed by a pilotless target aircraft 'Lakshya' also designed and developed by DRDO's another premier lab, 'Aeronautics Development Establishment' (ADE), Bengaluru developed pilotless target aircraft (PTA).

The target mounted on Lakshya was launched by a ship of the Indian Navy off the west coast of India.

A team from the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC), Aeronautical Development Agency, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, ADE (DRDO), CEMILAC, DGAQA and the Indian Navy worked in perfect unison to achieve this feat.

P.S. Subramanyam, DS, Program Director Combat vehicles and Director ADA and Air Cmde KA Muthana VSM, Project Director, Flight Test supervised the operations from the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC).