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Home / IAS Preparation / Lca Tejas

LCA Tejas - Technical Specification, History, Features, Variants And Development of LCA Tejas

Last Updated on Aug 28, 2024
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LCA stands for Light Combat Aircraft. In 1984, the Government of India started the LCA program and established the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). In 2003, the LCA was officially named “Tejas”. LCA Tejas is the smallest and lightest in its contemporary supersonic combat aircraft class. It is designed by Aeronautical Development Agency under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

LCA Tejas is one of the important topics for the UPSC IAS Exam as it covers a significant part of the Science & Technology subject in the General Studies paper-3 syllabus.

This article will detail the meaning, background, various features, and technical specifications of LCA Tejas for the UPSC exam.

What is LCA Tejas?

Tejas is indigenous aircraft of india. It is an indigenous, lightweight, single-engine, delta wing, a multipurpose light fighter for the Indian Air Force and Indian Navy. LCA Tejas is also known as HAL Tejas. It is developed in both fighter and trainer versions. It is a multipurpose supersonic aircraft. Tejas is made with cutting-edge materials, including composites, to reduce weight and lengthen component life. Tejas light combat aircraft is built to accommodate a remarkable array of standoff, precision-guided, air-to-air, and air-to-surface weapons.

Technical Specification of LCA Tejas

  • Tejas can carry a payload of up to 4000 kg. The maximum takeoff weight of this single-engine, single-pilot aircraft is 13,300 kg.
  • It has a top speed of Mach 1.8. Its fighting range is 500 kilometres, while its overall range is 850 kilometres.
  • Tejas is a low-cost aircraft with a straightforward design. As a result, it is very appealing to Asia’s cost-conscious nations.

Specifications of LCA Tejas at Glance

LCA full form

Light Combat Aircraft.

Entered into force

2016

Designer

Aeronautical Development Agency

Manufacturer

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)

Operated by

Indian Air Force

Indian Navy

Length

13.2m

Height

4.4m

Wingspan

8.2m

Wing Area

38.4m²

Range

3,000km

LCA Tejas top speed

1.8 Mach

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Recent Update

  • Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk2: By the end of December 2023, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk2 prototype is expected to make its first flight. The Indian government approved it with a budget of Rs 10,000 crore.
  •  The Indian Air Force (IAF) will replace its ageing MiG-29, Mirage-2000, and Jaguar aircraft fleets with the LCA Mk2.
  • According to the research and development organization DRDO, at least four prototypes are anticipated to be completed by 2027, and the aircraft is anticipated to enter IAF service before the decade's end.
  • Tejas Mark-2 has been described as a 4.5-generation machine with a 21st-century look that will not only have 70 per cent indigenization (as opposed to the 62 per cent of the Mark IA) but will incorporate more advanced technologies to be built in India.
  • Tejas Mark-2 is a 4.5-generation machine that will have 70% indigenization (compared to the Mark IA’s 62%) and integrate additional cutting-edge technologies that will be produced in India.

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Background on LCA Tejas

The idea of Tejas dates back to the 1980s to replace India’s MiG-21 fighters. Tejas is an indigenously created fourth-generation fighter aircraft in India by DRDO.

  • The LCA (Tejas) ADA, an autonomous society of DRDO, successfully developed a modern combat aircraft despite a lack of the requisite infrastructure and technological foundation.
  • Full Scale Engineering Development (FSED) initiative received approval in April 1993. On January 4, 2001, the first Technology Demonstrator (TD1) had its inaugural flight.
  • The goal of FSED Phase 1 was to show the technologies so that a decision could be made later on about the construction of functional proto-vehicles.
  • On March 31, 2004, LCA FSED Phase 1 was finished, and all technical development goals had been met.
  •  Four aircraft (TD1, TD2, PV1, & PV2) were created using the money authorized to develop two aircraft by effective financial management.
  • The Government decided in November 2001 to move forward with the construction of operational proto vehicles in the LCA FSED Phase 2 programme while the Phase 1 programme was ongoing.
  • LCA has completed roughly 3200 flights, demonstrating its reliability as an aircraft and how quickly the LCA Program is moving forward to achieve Final Operational Clearance (FOC) after achieving Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) in December 2013.

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Features of LCA Tejas

LCA Tejas is a prominent and indigenous aircraft. The salient features of LCA Tejas are listed below.

WINGS OF MODERNITY

  • The Tejas is a tailless compound delta-wing combat aircraft with a single vertical stabilizer with higher alpha performance than conventional wing designs.
  • It has a 50-degree root wing, a 62.5-degree outer wing, and a 4-degree forward swing along the hiking trail. It is a composite structure with a digital avionics system.
  • It is the class’s smallest and lightest modern supersonic combat aircraft.

COCKPIT

  • The LCA Tejas has a glass cockpit compatible with night vision and Martin Baker’s zero-zero ejection seats (UK).
  • The cockpit is outfitted with two 76mm liquid colour crystal multifunction displays. An HMDS is also provided, and the hands-on jets and stick-control system reduce pilot workload while increasing situational awareness.

TURBOFAN ENGINES

Production versions include full digital engine control for one General Electric 85kN F404-IN20 turbofan engine. Despite some initial hippies in the indigenous ‘Kaveri’ engines, the Tejas program is on the right track now.

AVIONICS PERFORMANCE

Tejas’ incredible aerodynamics allow it to perform well across a wider combat envelope. The aircraft’s highly efficient design demonstrates its thickness, twist, and camber correctly over its range.

WEIGHT

  • Empty Weight: 9800 Kg
  • Take-off weight: 6500 kilograms, 3500 kilograms of external storage
  • Maximum Weight: 1,035 kg (2,282 lb)

ARMAMENTS

  • Tejas is designed to carry a diverse range of air-to-air, air-to-surface, guided precision, and stand-off weapons.
  • Tejas’ air-to-air weapons have long outranged their visual range. A fast turnaround is enabled by an aircraft’s high manoeuvrability and enhanced handling features, which are integrated with the advanced cockpit, digital avionics, and the interface with weapons (WSI).
  • Aircraft have Astra BVRAAM, Vympel R-77, and R-73 air-to-air missiles. Kh-59ME TV guided stand-off missile and Kh-59MK laser-guided stand-off missile are air-to-surface missiles. The aircraft also carries a 23mm twin-barrel GSh-23 cannon.

SENSORS AND RADAR

The first batch of Tejas fighter jets are outfitted with Uttam radars. The Indian Air Force will receive 40 Tejas aircraft with Israeli radar and 83 with Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESA) radars and an electronic warfare suite.

GEAR

Tejas has a hydraulic, retractable, HAL-type landing gear with two independent, inward-retractable main wheels and a twin-wheel, steering, and forward-retractable nose gear. Titanium halves alloy tubes are used for hydraulic power transmission.

PRICE REDUCTION

The core per unit cost of the Mk1A during production will be Rs 309 crore, while the Mk1 trainer version will cost Rs 280 crore. The HAL has confirmed these figures, as has the DRDO author, who controls the ADA. The DRDO is in charge of ADA.

FLIGHT EVALUATION DURING DEVELOPMENT

  • Besides the aircraft nearing 5,000 test flights, Tejas’ impeccable flight safety record is also significant. There have been no mishaps in the Tejas’ flight record since its maiden flight 20 years ago, which is unusual in flight testing.
  • Tejas, a Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) that first flew nearly two decades ago is approaching an important milestone. Wing Commander Rajiv Kothiyal took the first flight from Bengaluru’s HAL Airport on January 4, 2001. Since then, it has completed 4,985 test flights with no accidents.

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Variants of LCA Tejas

There are 3 variants of Tejas:

  • Tejas Mark 1 (LCA Tejas mk2): is a Medium Weight Fighter with an Indian single engine. The Aeronautical Development Agency designs it in collaboration with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian Air Force.
  • Tejas Mark 1A (LCA Tejas mk1a): LCA Mk-1A is an upgraded version of the LCA Mk-1. An indigenously designed aircraft, the LCA Mk-1A contains more than 70% indigenous material. Better composite materials will be used in the redesigned Mk1A to lighten the airframe, and there will be more aerodynamic pylons to lower supersonic drag.
  • Trainer Variant: It is still in process, and not much is known about the trainer variant.

 Development of LCA Tejas
  • The LCA program was initiated in the early 1980s to develop a new light combat aircraft to replace the ageing IAF fighters, especially the MiG-21 variants.
  • The IAF had a large fleet of MiG-21s, with as many as 874 aircraft operating at one point.
  • The "Long Term Re-Equipment Plan 1981" recognized the need to replace these ageing fighters as they approached the end of their service lives by the early 1990s.
  • The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) was established in 1984 under the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to oversee the LCA program.
  • The design of the Tejas, a small tailless compound delta wing aircraft with relaxed static stability, was finalized in 1990.
  • It was equipped with a digital fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system for enhanced manoeuvrability.
  • In December 2021, the Ministry of Defence clarified that the HAL Tejas is no longer considered a replacement for the MiG-21 but part of the IAF's general fleet modernization program.
  • In April 2023, HAL began a third production line at its Nashik Division, increasing the production capacity to 24 aircraft per year.

LCA Tejas| Light Combat Aircraft – Know its Historical Background, Features & More:Download PDF here!

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LCA Tejas - FAQs

The Indian Air Force (IAF) currently operates 40 Tejas Mk1 aircraft. The IAF awarded HAL a $6.07 billion contract in January 2021 for 73 Tejas Mk1A fighter aircraft and ten LCA Tejas Mk1 trainer aircraft.

LCA Tejas is a single-engine, highly agile multi-role supersonic fighter capable of operating in high-threat air environments.

Tejas is a single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft manufactured by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) that is capable of operating in high-risk air environments. HAL created its first supersonic fighter, the HAL HF-24 Marut, in the 1960s and retired it in 1990.

US is interested in Tejas because Tejas is fully capable of carrying a load weighing between eight and nine tonnes. It can carry the same number of weapons and missiles as the heavier Sukhoi. Its primary advantage is its quickness. It is lightweight and flies at the speed of Mach 1.6 to 1.8, at an altitude of 52,000 feet.

The LCA was given the official name "Tejas" in 2003. It originated from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which was started in the 1980s to replace India's aging MiG-21 fighters but later integrated into a larger programme for fleet modernization.
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