Indian Light Combat Aircraft’s LSP – 3 takes to skies

By admin | April 23rd, 2010 |

Indian military aviation R&D got a boost today as the Limited Series Production (LSP) # 3 aircraft, the ninth test vehicle joined the flight line to undertake development flight trials of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas towards operational clearance for induction in the IAF by the end of the year. Successful, copy book maiden test flight of LSP-3 is significant on many counts.

The LSP-3 is a quantum jump in terms of the equipment fit on the aircraft. It is almost the final configuration including the new air-data computers, Multi Mode Radar, new communication and navigation equipment and radar warning receiver. With this successful flight, the LCA (Tejas) programme is very close to the Initial Operations Clearance, which is to be completed by December 2010. The remaining effort is mostly the flight testing and demonstration of sensors and weapon performance.

LCA Tejas LSP-3

The test aircraft was flown by Wg Cdr G Thomas, VM of the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) at ADA. As per procedure the first flight was accompanied by a chase aircraft which was a Tejas Trainer flown by Gp Capt RR Tyagi, the Chief Test Pilot and Wg Cdr (Retd) PK Raveendran SC, the Group Director (Flight Test). The test flight was conducted from the Telemetry station by the Test Director, Wg Cdr S Toffeen, under the supervision of Air Cmde Rohit Varma VM, the Project Director (Flight Test). The flight took off from HAL airport in Bangalore and all the objectives of the flight were met within the duration of 52 minutes.

With this flight the total number of test flights accumulated across nine test vehicles of the Tejas programme has reached one thousand three hundred and fifty and has logged about 800 hrs of flight.

On the successful flight of the LSP-3 Director – ADA, Mr PS Subramanyam has said that this is the “culmination of the efforts of the Tejas Team comprising of members from HAL, IAF, CEMILAC, DG-AQA, DRDO labs, PSUs, coordinated by ADA”.