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IAF successfully carried first-ever mid-air refueling of LCA Tejas
Indian Air Force successfully carried first-ever mid-air refueling of LCA Tejas: Details, Highlights
Indian Air Force (IAF) has successfully carried out first ever mid-air refueling of indigenously developed light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
The mid-air refueling test conducted involved dry linkup, meaning no fuel was actually transferred between IAF Il-78 tanker and Tejas fighter jet through its air-to-air refueling probe.
For this mid-air refueling test, Russian-built IL-78 MKI tanker was launched from IAF’s base in Agra while LCA Tejas fighter was launched from Gwalior. Nine more tests will be held which will also include wet tests where actual transfer of fuel takes place from IAF tanker to fighter jet.
The success of these mid-air refueling tests will be a major leap for an indigenous fighter which will help in enhancing its mission capability by increasing its range and payload. . The ability to carry out air-to-air refueling is also one of the critical requirements for LCA Tejas to achieve final operation.
LCA Tejas is lightweight single-seat multi-role jet fighter, powered by a single engine. It has tail-less and compound delta wing design made entirely of composite structures. It is pegged as world’s smallest and lightest supersonic fighter aircraft in its class.
LCA Tejas is first advanced fly-by-wire Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) designed, developed and manufactured indigenously by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL) and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) as part of LCA programme, started in the 1980s to replace India’s aging MiG-21 fighters.
LCA Tejas was named ‘Tejas’, which means ‘radiance’, by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It took a total of 20 years from 1993 to 2013 for building this aircraft. Its maiden flight took place in 2001.
