DPSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the first trainer version of the twin seater Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in Bengaluru on 04 October, 2023.
Further, seven more LCA twin seater aircraft will be delivered next year.
The LCA Tejas Twin Seater is a light weight, all weather multi-role 4.5 generation aircraft.
It is designed to support the training requirements of the IAF and augment itself to the role of a fighter in case of necessity.
Further, it is an amalgamation of contemporary concepts and technologies such as quadraplex fly-by-wire flight control, carefree manoeuvring, advanced glass cockpit, integrated digital avionics systems and advanced composite materials for the airframe.
Earlier, in 2021, the Indian Defence Ministry had signed a Rs 45,696 crore deal with HAL to supply 83 LCA-Mk1A, a more capable fighter than the current LCA-MK1 in service.
As per contract, three LCA-MK1A are scheduled to be delivered to the IAF in February 2024 and 16 aircraft per year for the subsequent five years.
Worth mentioning that the the IAF would be going forward to procure around 100 more LCAs.
