Tejas: Very important vanguard

The crash of a Tejas Mk-1 Mild Fight Plane (LCA), on the Dubai Air Present on November 21, which resulted within the tragic loss of life of Indian Air Drive (IAF) pilot Wing Commander Namansh Syal, has sparked an intense debate over Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd’s (HAL) capabilities and the federal government’s dedication to indigenous protection manufacturing.

Officers from each HAL and the IAF, nevertheless, preserve that the Tejas platform stays one of many most secure modern fighter plane in its class. Addressing the considerations at an occasion in Delhi on Friday, HAL chairman and managing director DK Sunil strongly defended the jet’s observe document. “There’s completely no downside with Tejas; it’s completely secure, and its security document is the most effective on the earth. What you noticed in Dubai was an unlucky incident,” he mentioned.

Aviation consultants have echoed this view, advising in opposition to drawing untimely conclusions. They notice that fashionable fighter operations contain inherent dangers, and remoted incidents ought to be evaluated in context. Many consider the Dubai crash is unlikely to influence Tejas’s rising export potential.

The Dubai crash marks the second Tejas accident in lower than two years. In March 2024, a Tejas fighter went down in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer — the primary crash within the plane’s 23-year flight historical past. Since its maiden check flight in 2001, the Tejas had maintained an unblemished document.

The lengthy hole with out main accidents had considerably strengthened confidence within the indigenous programme, which has been underneath improvement because the early Nineteen Eighties.

The LCA was conceived as a alternative for the growing older MiG-21 fleet, which had served because the spine of the IAF for many years. Over time, this system advanced by means of exhaustive testing, system upgrades and technological breakthroughs.

At present, the Tejas household consists of a number of variants: the Mk1, Mk1A and the under-development Mk2, together with coach and naval variations. The Mk1 is the preliminary manufacturing mannequin at present operated by the IAF, whereas the Mk1A represents a considerable technological leap with its AESA radar, superior digital warfare suite, beyond-visual-range missile functionality, mid-air refueling system and lowered radar cross-section.

Smallest and lightest

Tejas is the world’s smallest and lightest supersonic fighter in its class. It encompasses a delta-wing configuration and a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire flight management system, together with superior flight management legal guidelines designed to reinforce manoeuvrability.

With a most payload capability of 4,000 kg and a most takeoff weight of 13,300 kg, the plane is designed primarily for air fight and offensive air assist missions, with reconnaissance and anti-ship roles as secondary capabilities. The IAF at present flies the Mk1 with No. 45 Flying Daggers and No. 18 Flying Bullets squadrons at Sulur Air Drive Station, with extra items deliberate within the coming years. A significant milestone for this system got here in March 2024 when the primary sequence manufacturing Mk1A accomplished its inaugural flight. HAL has since commissioned three devoted manufacturing strains — two in Bengaluru and one in Nashik — to satisfy rising home and export demand.

Past the Mk1A, the extra superior Tejas Mk2 stays in improvement. Conceived in 2012 as a 4.5-generation fighter to interchange the Mirage-2000, Jaguar and MiG-29 fleets, the Mk2 has seen repeated delays, with its first prototype now anticipated round 2026. As soon as operational, the Mk2 is anticipated to be probably the most succesful indigenous fighter.

Regardless of the latest setback in Dubai, aviation analysts preserve that the Tejas program represents a big technological achievement and a important pillar of India’s aerospace ecosystem.

The approaching months — notably the findings of the Dubai crash investigation — shall be essential. Nonetheless, for now, HAL and the IAF stay agency that Tejas continues to be a secure, dependable and strategically very important platform for India’s air fight functionality.