Indian Military

New Delhi – While the Indian Defence Minister A K Antony has assured that the indigenous ‘Tejas’ light combat aircraft (LCA) will get its “initial operational clearance” in December, the ‘Tejas’ LCA project has seen an astronomical rise in its price tag and the development cost.

According to sources, the first 40 ‘Tejas’ LCA to be inducted in the Indian Armed Forces will cost roughly $33.3 million excluding its development cost. As for the development cost of the ‘Tejas’ LCA, the overall figure is to the tune of $3.8 billion which is a 3000 per cent hike from the cost during the conception of the project over two decades ago. The sanctioned cost includes the fighter’s naval variant, which will run till December 2018.

The ‘Tejas’ has carried out around 1,420 flights with 10 prototypes till date. The full-scale engineering development (FSED) Phase-I till March 2004 cost Rs 2,188 crore. The Phase-II, to be completed by December 2012, will cost another $1.

New Delhi – After the handover of the first  ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in January, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has now made an order of 24 additional F404-GE-IN20 from General Electric Aviation. These 24 after-burning engines would power the first operational squadron of Tejas LCA. These GE 404 IN 20 will be for Tejas Mark -1 LCA only while the 99 engines which were ordered earlier were GE 414-INS6 for Tejas Mark-II.

In January, the Tejas LCA was fitted with the F-404-GE-IN20 engine on a trial basis to conduct the final flight testing evaluation. The F404-GE-IN20 is the highest rated F404 model by General Electric and includes a higher-flow fan, increased thrust, a Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) system, single-crystal turbine blades and a variety of single-engine features. The Tejas LCA has been accorded with the initial operational clearance (IOC) earlier this year.

According to the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the indigenous Kaveri engine maybe ready for installation in 2018.

NEW DELHI: "Beg, borrow or steal", was the advice the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief, Air Chief Norman Anil Kumar Browne, had for defence scientists Wednesday for developing critical technologies for the armed forces.
Browne, who was delivering a lecture at an aerospace seminar organised by the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) here, was attempting to impress upon the defence scientists the need to develop an engine for indigenous fighter aircraft that has not happened for almost three decades.
"You may have to beg, borrow or steal. But you have to do it," Browne said to stress that there was an urgency in locally developing the indigenous aeroengine if India has to strengthen it defence capabilities.
India had tasked its Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) 22 years ago to develop an indigenous engine and till date has sanctioned a budget of Rs.2,893 crore (over $500 million) for its development.
Yet, the Kaveri engine programme, envisaged as the aeroengine for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is still to fructify and the LCA is fitted with the American GE engine.

New Delhi — India’s homegrown single-engine multi-role ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is finally ready for induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF) squadron. The Defence Minister A.K.Anthony handed over the initial operational clearance (IOC) certificate to IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik at a ceremony in Bangalore.

While the Defence Ministry has given Tejas LCA the operational clearance, the IAF will now use the supersonic fighter and give the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) after some systems and manoeuvres are finalised. The FOC is expected to be achieved by the end of 2012. The IAF will deploy the aircraft at one of its bases in Bangalore so that support from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) can be accessible to overcome any initial glitches.

According to sources, the IAF plans to induct two squadrons in IOC mode by the middle of 2011. The IAF has already placed the orders for 40 LCAs in March 2005 and they will be powered by the American General Electric GE-F404 engines.