Naval variant of LCA Tejas passes critical test for deployment

The naval variant of LCA Tejas has passed a crucial test for operation from aircraft carriers at the Shore Based Test Facility INS Hansa, Goa
Naval variant of LCA Tejas passes critical test for deployment

New Delhi: The naval variant of LCA Tejas has passed a crucial test for operation from aircraft carriers at the Shore Based Test Facility INS Hansa, Goa, an official release said on Monday. "On 29 September, 2019, LCA Naval Prototype-2 launched off the ski jump at 1621 hours and then subsequently "trapped" at 1631 hrs on the arresting gear site (both locations situated at Shore Based Test Facility INS Hansa, Goa)," the statement said.

Why is this significant?

While both these activities had been achieved individually earlier, this was the first occasion when the complete cycle of launch and recovery necessary for aircraft carrier operations was accomplished in a single sortie.

The previous maiden "arrested landing" of the naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas on September 13 at a shore-based test facility in Goa was a "textbook landing," said sources at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). They added that this is the first time that the naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) made a "successful landing" on a 90-metre stretch after being flown by a pilot for about 40 minutes.

An arrested landing is one in which an aircraft on course of its landing is decelerated with the help of wires from underneath while it moves on the runway.

'LCA Tejas landed at a very steep angle'

"The landing took place at our SBTF (shore-based test facility) at INS Hansa in Goa. The touchdown was at about 11:45 am and the landing was at a very steep angle. This will pave the way for this indigenous platform for a coordinated aircraft carrier landing in the future," the source said.

Rajnath Singh congratulates DRDO, ADA, HAL and Navy

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has congratulated DRDO, ADA, HAL and Indian Navy for this major feat. Secretary, Department of Defence, R&D and Chairman DRDO, Dr G Satheesh Reddy also congratulated the teams for achieving this milestone.

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