“Induction of indigenously made Tejas fighter jet into the Air Force fills our hearts with unparalleled pride & happiness,” he tweeted.
The first squad of Tejas was inducted into IAF at Bengaluru earlier on Friday with two fighter planes joining the force, in a major milestone in the military aviation of the country.
“I laud HAL & ADA on the induction of Tejas fighter jet. This illustrates our skills & strengths to enhance indigenous defence manufacturing,” Modi said in another tweet.
State-run HAL handed over the first two Tejas aircraft to IAF, which makes up the first squad named ‘Flying Daggers’, at a ceremony preceded by inter-faith prayers at the Aircraft System Testing Establishment.
The commissioning of the India-made fighter planes comes more than three decades after LCA went into development. The aircraft was named “Tejas” (meaning radiance in Sanskrit) by Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister.
The squad will be based in Bengaluru for the first two years before it is moved to Sulur in Tamil Nadu.
The induction comes at a time when IAF desperately needs replacement for its MiG 21s. IAF has a depleting fighter aircraft strength, and while Tejas has been designed for only light combat, it will nevertheless provide a much needed boost to the air force.
Tejas is said to be the world’s smallest lightweight, multi-role single engine tactical fighter aircraft. It is a single engined, light weight, highly agile, multi-role supersonic fighter.
The combat aircraft uses fourth generation technologies and has intentionally been made longitudinally unstable to enhance manoeuvrability. Tejas is equipped with a quadruplex digital fly-by-wire flight control system to ease handling by the pilot.
Last month, IAF chief Arup Raha had his first sortie in the Tejas, after which he called it a “good aircraft for induction”. “It is my first sortie in Tejas, it is a good aircraft for induction into IAF operations,” Raha said.
Tejas has been developed in multiple variants – single-seat fighter and twin seat trainer variants – for IAF and Indian Navy. Tejas is being inducted into the IAF after being years decades into making.
Meanwhile, Swedish defence major Saab is in talks with HAL for helping India make the next generation version of the LCA Tejas.
Source:- Financial Express
The post Tejas Induction a Matter of ‘Unparalleled Pride’, Says PM Modi appeared first on Defence Update.
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