Naval version of Tejas undergoes successful test

NEW DELHI: A test pilot flying an light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas on Thursday successfully snagged the jet’s tailhook on the arresting wire at a test facility in Goa, said a Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) spokesperson.

The naval variant of the homegrown LCA took the first step towards landing on the flight deck of India’s only aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya. The carrier, currently, operates Russianorigin MIG-29K fighters from its deck.

This was the first in a series of rigourous tests that will be carried out before the fighter can be tested for actual flight deck operations, which could take more than a year.

Landing on a carrier requires snagging a maritime fighter’s tailhook on one of the arresting wires on the flight deck as the runway space is scarce.

The ‘arrested landing’ brings the fighter to a grinding halt, with its landing speed coming down from 130 knots to zero in a couple of seconds.

“India has joined the select club of US, Europe, Russia and China having the capability of deck landing of fighter aircraft,” the spokesperson said.

He said actual landing and taking-off from the Vikramaditya was still a long way to go but the project was moving in that direction smoothly.with the shorebased test facility in Goa, the navy has created an aircraft carrier setting on the ground to test and operate deck-based fighters.

The HAL’S design wing, Aircraft Research and Design Centre, has designed and developed the arrestor hook system for flight deck operations.