The Indian Air Force (IAF) will induct the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) within the next few months, Indian Centre for Military Airworthiness scientist Gantayat Gauda has said.
The multirole, single-seater will replace the aging MiG-21 aircraft, which have been the IAF’s mainstay since the 1970s.
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“Tejas has been developed indigenously, except the engine, which has been procured from General Electric,” Gauda added.
The LCA has been developed by a consortium of five organisations pooled by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), while state-run Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is the principal partner in the design of the aircraft.
The full operational clearance for the LCA is expected to be given by June 2011 and its advanced version will be ready by 2015.
The first LCA flight is expected to take off in the next two years with the indigenous Kaveri engine, which is presently under development.
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