NEW DELHI - India's indigenous fighter project involving the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) appeared to get a boost on September 30 when a successful maiden flight of the first platform (named 'Series Production 1') was completed. Designed, developed and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in partnership with the state-run Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) the Tejas LCA finally received initial operational clearance in December 2013, almost exactly 30 years after the project was approved by the government of then-Prime Minister Indira Ghandi in 1983. Delays and cost overruns have plagued the program since its inception.
The Indian Air Force intends for the Tejas to fill its low-end fighter requirement and plans to outfit seven squadrons with between 140 and 200 of the aircraft. The first 40 of these will be in the Mark 1 (Mk 1) variant, equipped with the General Electric F404-IN20 engine, which is being used as a stopgap measure intended to get this first batch of aircraft into service by 2016-2017 after (hopefully) achieving full operational clearance (FOC) in 2015.
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