LCA 'Tejas' all set for Initial Operational Clearance
10 Jan 2011
Bangalore: India's prestigious indigenous fighter development programme crosses a historic milestone today with the 'Tejas' Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme achieving Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) status here.
Indian defence minister AK Antony will hand over the service certificate of the LCA to chief of air staff , air chief marshal PV Naik, which will allow the IAF to fly the LCA till Final Operational Clearance (FOC) is achieved and the multi-role fighter is inducted into operational service.
The FOC is hoped to be achieved by the end of 2012, officials said.
'The Tejas handing over will be another red letter day for the Indian aerospace industry, a decade after its first prototype made a maiden flight Jan 4, 2001,' former ADA director and the father figure of the LCA programme, Kota Harinarayan said.
With a mix of Mark I and II versions, the IAF eventually hopes to induct as many as 200 or 10 squadrons of these small size fighters into service.
The fly-by-wire supersonic fighter was developed over a decade by the state-run Aeronautical Defence Agency (ADA). It is manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) at Bangalore.
.jpg "RBI keeps repo rate unchanged as focus remains on inflation")
.jpg "Indian Oil, Panasonic team up for lithium-ion cell production in India")
