Why in news
After some delay, the deliveries of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
(HAL) to the Indian Air Force (IAF) are now expected to begin by July-end with officials stating that the delay is due to supply chain issues, including at the HAL and at General Electric (GE) in delivering the engines.
The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme was started by the Government of India in 1984 when they established the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to manage the LCA programme.
LCA Tejas was designed and developed by India’s HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited).
It replaced the ageing Mig 21 fighter planes.
It was in 2003 that the Light Combat Aircraft programme was named ‘Tejas’ (meaning radiance in Sanskrit) by the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
It is the second supersonic fighter jet that was developed by HAL (the first one being HAL HF-24 Marut).
LCA Tejas is a single-engine multirole light combat aircraft.
It is the lightest and smallest multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft in its class.
It is designed to carry a range of air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision-guided, and standoff weaponry.
Tejas has a single-engine, compound Delta wing, and has a tailless design.
The idea behind the LCA programme was to expand and develop India’s indigenous aerospace capabilities.
Since the 1970s, the MiG 21 planes were the mainstay of the Indian Air Force.
The primary goal of the LCA programme was to replace the ageing MiGs.
The secondary goal was the advancement of indigenous domestic aviation capabilities.
HAL plans to deliver 123 Tejas aircraft to the Indian Air Force by 2024-25.
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