India’s LCA Tejas set to debut in foreign air
NEW DELHI: India’s light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas is set to make its debut on foreign soil next month, officials familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. It will take part in a multinational air exercise called Cobra Warrior 22 at Waddington in the United Kingdom from March 6 to 27, the Indian Air Force said in a statement.
“The exercise is aimed at providing operational exposure and share best practices amongst the participating air forces, thereby enhancing combat capability and forging bonds of friendship. This will be a platform for LCA Tejas to demonstrate its manoeuvrability and operational capability,” it added.
Five Tejas aircraft will take part in the exercise with IAF’s C-17 heavy-lifters providing transport support for induction and de-induction.
Tejas Mk-1 fighter jets took part in the Singapore Air Show from February 15 to 18, with the move aimed at tapping the export potential of the locally-made LCA.
Three Tejas Mk-1 jets will take part in the air show. The aircraft previously took in the Malaysia, Dubai and Bahrain air shows but have never participated in a combat exercise in a foreign country.
The Tejas’s participation in the Singapore air show came in the backdrop of India taking steps to transform itself from one of the world’s biggest weapons importers into an export powerhouse. The military hardware that holds export potential includes LCA, Astra beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, Akash surface-to-air missile system, BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles, tanks, sonars and a variety of radars, officials said.
India’s BrahMos Aerospace and the Philippines last month signed a deal worth almost $375 million for the Philippine Marines to acquire three batteries of the BrahMos cruise missile, a shot in the arm for New Delhi’s efforts to emerge as an exporter of major defence hardware.
Experts believe LCA can help
India get a toehold in foreign markets.
State-run plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is expected to carry out the first test flight of the Tejas’s latest variant, Mk-1A, soon. Last year, the defence ministry awarded a ₹48,000-crore contract to HAL for 83 LCA Mk-1A jets for IAF. The first Mk-1A aircraft will be delivered to the air force by March 2024, with the rest slated to join its combat fleet by 2029.
“LCA Tejas has displayed its prowess at a few international air shows. The fact that IAF is deploying it for a multi-national exercise abroad reflects its confidence in the single-engine fighter plane,” said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre for Air Power Studies.