Air Force set to order 100 more indigenous LCA Mk1A fighter jets
LCA), the air force is set to order an additional 100 of the Mk 1A variant of the fighter jet, with the order value likely to be around $8 billion.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already placed an order for 83 LCA Mk1A fighter jets, the first of which is to be delivered by early next year. The Mk 1A version is a major improvement over the 40 Mk1 jets that were originally ordered by the air force, with modern avionics, Active Electronically Steered Radar, a new electronic warfare suite and a Beyond Visual Range missile capability.
The order will place the total number of LCA jets-also called Tejas-in the Indian fighter fleet at 223, second only to the Russian origin Su 30MKI fighter jets.
India has also recently announced a deal for manufacturing of GE F414 engines under technology transfer pact with the US. These are for the under development Mk2 variant of the LCA, with numbers ordered expected to be in excess of 100.
In July, the LCA completed seven years of accident free service in the air force.
On Tuesday, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari reviewed the status of the LCA programme at Air Headquarters with all stakeholders, including manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The officer termed the LCA as the flag bearer of IAF's efforts towards indigenisation of its aircraft fleet.
HAL officials have earlier told ET that the production rate of the LCA can be increased by 2-3 times, depending on the requirements of the air force.
The air chief said that the new LCA Mk 1A would be inducted in a newly-raised squadron in an operational base by early next year. «With timely deliveries of the more capable variant, the LCA Mk 1A is likely to see increased deployments at forward bases, besides
