| a | | World Aviation Defense & Security News - India | | | | | | Indian Air Force inducted two indigenous Tejas Light combat aircraft for the first time | | | In an important milestone for indigenous military aviation in India, the Indian Air Force inducted two Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) and one trainer aircraft. The fighters are manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. | |  Tejas multi-role light fighter (Credit: Wikipedia) | | Indian Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar applauded the accomplishment on Twitter, noting it as a “moment of national pride.” “Indigenously developed Tejas fighter jet inducted into Air Force. Tejas will take our air strength to new heights,” he added. The Tejas is a single-seat, single-engine, multi-role light fighter, intended to replace India’s aging fleet of MiG-21 fighters. The program has suffered several delays and cost escalations in the course of its development. The HAL Tejas is an Indian single-seat, single-jet engine, multi-role light fighter designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and Navy. The aircraft has a tail-less compound delta-wing configuration, which gives it high maneuverablility.[8] It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. LCA was officially named "Tejas" in 2003, meaning "Radiant" in Sanskrit by the then Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. |
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