India's very own fighter aircraft on the prowl! Indigenous fighter aircraft Tejas of no 45 squadrons 'The Flying Daggers' formally started operations from the Air Force Station at Sulur
in Coimbatore under Group Captain S Dhankhar on Monday.
- With deployment of Tejas, its squadron ‘Flying Daggers’ took up active wartime role towards safeguarding national skies.
- The Southern Air Command base at Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala has been entrusted with the responsibility of integrating the fighter in the Air Force's concept of operations.
- It has been involved in training aircrew of fighter aircraft Tejas.
- It will now undertake operations and maintenance of the indigenous fighter aircraft.
Facts about "Tejas" :
- Tejas is the first advanced fly-by-wire Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) designed, developed and manufactured indigenously by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
- It is a lightweight single-seat multi-role jet fighter.
- It has been pegged as world’s smallest and lightest supersonic fighter.
- It is powered by a single engine.
- It has a tailless and compound delta wing design.
- It was developed and manufactured under Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India’s ageing MiG-21 fighters.
- It is equipped with satellite-aided Inertial Navigation System.
- It has a digital computer-based attack system and an autopilot mode.
- It can fire Air to Air missiles, carry bombs and precision guided ammunition.
- It has limited reach of a little over 400-km.
- It will be mainly used for close air-to-ground operations.
