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Induction of the HAL Tejas multirole fighter jets delayed yet again

July 22, 2012 at 07:26

Sahil

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The induction of the locally developed Indian Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), HAL Tejas is all set to undergo another delay.

The Indian English language daily, Times of India reported today that the aircraft is not yet ready for operations with the Indian Air Force (IAF), and its induction is unlikely to occur before 2015. The aircraft, which is being developed by the fully government owned aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was cleared by the IAF in 2011 for its pilots.

The Indian government agency, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had started the development of the aircraft way back in 1983. The aim was to replace the ageing Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 fighter jets of the IAF with locally made attack aircrafts. At that time, it was widely expected that the aircraft will enter active operation by the year 1995. However, a series of technical snags and mishaps had forced both the DRDO and the HAL to delay its induction several times since then.

The Tejas programme has so far cost the Indian government close to $5 billion, and the latest development will make sure that the financial burden will increase even further. Defence analysts opined that the main concern of the Ministry of Defence is not about the mounting costs, but the timeframe required inducting the aircrafts in to the IAF. The Indian media had reported earlier this year that the Pakistani Air Force (PAF) has gained superiority over the Indian Air Force (IAF) in offensive operations. This was a result of the reduction in the IAF fleet, due to the decommissioning of the retired aircraft.

The HAL Tejas is capable of attaining speeds of up to Mach 1.8 at high altitudes. It is having an operational range of around 530 miles, and is armed with various air-to-air, air-to-surface, and anti-ship missiles, in addition to bombs and aerial guns.

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