LCA Tejas makes it to Bahrain International Airshow

19 Jan 2016

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History has been created when India's light combat aircraft (LCA), Tejas, touched foreign soil for the first time landing at Sakhir Airbase in Bahrain.

Tejas, indigenously designed and developed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), for the first time flew into foreign airspace to participate in the Bahrain International Airshow-2016 during 21 to 23 January 2016.

In addition to Tejas, DRDO is also showcasing other indigenously developed defence systems to display the nation's prowess in the area of advanced defence technologies with the aim of exploring the potential for export of defence systems and equipment.

Tejas, the first India-made aircraft to be shown at a foreign air show, is likely to be matched against Pakistan's JF-17 Thunder fighter produced with Chinese help.

JF-17 Thunder is a third-generation fighter co-produced by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC), Kamra, and China's Chengdu Aircraft Industry Corporation. It has been in service since 2010, with the PAC rolling out the 16th of its 50 Block-2 aircraft to complete the PAF's fourth JF-17 squadron last month.

LCA Tejas, development of which started in 1984, has not been inducted into the IAF yet. Test pilots have done more than 3,000 flights on the fighter, which still awaits IAF's final operational clearance.

The IAF has ordered six squadrons (120 aircraft) of Tejas Mark-1A but there is no certainty over the induction schedule.

Tejas and JF-17, however, have been designed very differently. Tejas was meant as the next generation fighter and there is a lot of great technology on the Tejas, such as the Israeli HMD. For Pakistan, the JF-17 is meant to replace its old fleet of Mirage III and Chengdu J-7 fighters, which it has done.''

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