Bengaluru: In a quiet ceremony on Saturday that kept the shutterbugs and journalists out, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the Tejas Series Production-1 (LCA-SP1) to defence minister Manohar Parrikar and Air chief marshal Anup Raha here.
The aircraft will now be finally used by the Indian Air Force (IAF) which has had a long frustrating wait to get the plane that was first conceived 32 years ago.
The LCA-SP1 flew for the first time on October 1, 2014 commanded by Air Commodore (retd) K A Muthanna and is in its initial operational clearance (IOC) configuration and not the FOC (final operational clearance), which is expected only early next year.
This version of the aircraft will lack the latest electronic warfare suite, which was integrated into one of the LCAs two weeks ago, mid-air refuelling and long-range missiles capabilities, among other things that the FOC-configuration aircraft will boast of.
17/01/15 Chethan Kumar/Times of India
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The aircraft will now be finally used by the Indian Air Force (IAF) which has had a long frustrating wait to get the plane that was first conceived 32 years ago.
The LCA-SP1 flew for the first time on October 1, 2014 commanded by Air Commodore (retd) K A Muthanna and is in its initial operational clearance (IOC) configuration and not the FOC (final operational clearance), which is expected only early next year.
This version of the aircraft will lack the latest electronic warfare suite, which was integrated into one of the LCAs two weeks ago, mid-air refuelling and long-range missiles capabilities, among other things that the FOC-configuration aircraft will boast of.
17/01/15 Chethan Kumar/Times of India
