Parrikar Hands Over Tejas To IAF
BENGALURU: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar handed over the first indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas to Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha.
Marking the formal handing over of the multi-role fighter built by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) under the limited series production of 20 aircraft (Mark-1 version), the minister presented technical documents to Raha in the presence of HAL chairman R.K. Tyagi.
The media was, however, not allowed to cover the event, which took place during Parrikar's maiden official visit here after he took over as defence minister Nov 10 last year.
Calling upon HAL and the Defence Research and Development Oraganisation (DRDO), whose aeronautics agencies took over three decades in developing the LCA, to think out of the box to meet the timeline challenges for delivering the aircraft to IAF, Parrikar told officials to give more thrust on research and technology.
"Although one does not achieve everything overnight, we can achieve the results better by modifying our work culture and adopting latest technology and tools," Parrikar said.
Noting that LCA was the need of the hour, given the operational requirements of the IAF, Raha said the fourth-generation fighter would be inducted into the fleet along with other aircraft to form the first Tejas squadron.
Admitting that Tejas was only 60 percent indigenous till date, Tyagi said the company would roll out six aircraft in the ensuing fiscal (2015-16).
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