Decks have been cleared for the country's largest ever defence order, over RS 2 trillion for 100 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
At a crucial November 27 governing body meeting of the DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) that included manufacturers Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the IAF brought down a wishlist of 57 outstanding maintenance issues with the aircraft down to 43, all of which can be executed by ADA and HAL without changing the aircraft design.
"We are now hopeful of an order for 100 Mark 1-As before the end of the current financial year," DRDO chief Dr S Christopher told MAILTODAY. The meeting of the governing council headed by Dr Christopher follows the September 23 signing of new aircraft specifications between the four key stakeholders in the three-decade old LCA project-the IAF, DRDO, MoD and HAL. The agreement has launched the struggling LCA Tejas project on a new trajectory. Designs of the Mark-1A will be complete by 2017 and the modified aircraft could enter production beginning 2019.
HAL is currently supplying the IAF with 20 variants of the basic LCA Tejas. The DRDO chief says the Mark 1-A Tejas will address other shortcomings indicated by the IAF like the lack of an Active Electronically Scanned Array or AESA radar and Electronic Support Measures (ESM) which will be carried on a pod instead of within the fuselage. The modified Mark 1-A was proposed by HAL this year as a stop gap because the Mark 2 with uprated GE-414 engines and a lengthened fuselage, will not be ready for induction before 2024.
01/12/15 Sandeep Unnithan/Business Today
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
At a crucial November 27 governing body meeting of the DRDO's Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) that included manufacturers Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the IAF brought down a wishlist of 57 outstanding maintenance issues with the aircraft down to 43, all of which can be executed by ADA and HAL without changing the aircraft design.
"We are now hopeful of an order for 100 Mark 1-As before the end of the current financial year," DRDO chief Dr S Christopher told MAILTODAY. The meeting of the governing council headed by Dr Christopher follows the September 23 signing of new aircraft specifications between the four key stakeholders in the three-decade old LCA project-the IAF, DRDO, MoD and HAL. The agreement has launched the struggling LCA Tejas project on a new trajectory. Designs of the Mark-1A will be complete by 2017 and the modified aircraft could enter production beginning 2019.
HAL is currently supplying the IAF with 20 variants of the basic LCA Tejas. The DRDO chief says the Mark 1-A Tejas will address other shortcomings indicated by the IAF like the lack of an Active Electronically Scanned Array or AESA radar and Electronic Support Measures (ESM) which will be carried on a pod instead of within the fuselage. The modified Mark 1-A was proposed by HAL this year as a stop gap because the Mark 2 with uprated GE-414 engines and a lengthened fuselage, will not be ready for induction before 2024.
01/12/15 Sandeep Unnithan/Business Today