BENGALURU: After more than three-and-half decades it was conceptualised,the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is finally battle ready. TejasMark 1 (Mk1) got the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) on the first day ofAero India 2019 at the Yelahanka Air Force base on Wednesday.
The setting sun provided the perfect setting for the ceremony to hand overthe FOC certificate and documents to Chief of India Air Force Air ChiefMarshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, who called the aircraft “battle ready”.
Pointing out that the LCA Tejas was “ready” and has “behaved like a truefighter” during the mega exercise Gaganshakti 2018 and the recentlyconcluded Vayushakti in Rajasthan’s Pokhran, ACM Dhanoa said this is the”proof of the pudding”.
While setting his sight on the still-in-the-development-stage Tejas Mark 2,the IAF chief expressed his happiness at the FOC for the world’s lightestfighter Tejas Mk 1.
“It’s a major milestone today. Tejas has taken part in Gaganshakti 2018 andVayushakti recently. And it performed extremely well with a high sortiegeneration rate and the required weapons capabilities. We have got theTejas Mk 1. Now we need Tejas Mk 2,” he said.
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The FOC was given after Tejas successfully demonstrated its capabilities infiring the Derby Air-to-Air Beyond Visual Range missile, mid-air refuellingand air-to-ground bombing.
IAF is looking at 83 Tejas Mk 1 fighters at an estimated cost of Rs 50,000crore.
