Jan. 10: It was the much-awaited moment under the sun for defence scientists and engineers as the “made in India” supersonic combat jet Tejas blazed the skies over this tech hub to mark an entry into the Indian Air Force (IAF)’s fleet on Monday. This multi-role fourth generation fighter — Tejas Mark 1 — the fruition of two-and-a-half decade of design and production, ranks almost at par with the Swedish JAS-39 Gripen NG, according to Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik.
The Indian Air Force will initially induct 40 of these fighters, each costing about `200 crores, and deploy them at Sulur, Tamil Nadu. It was originally designed to replace the ageing MIG-21 fleet, but has been equipped with several advanced elements: avionics, radar, beyond visual range (BVR) missiles and higher endurance in flight.
Sources in the Indian Air Force told this newspaper that group captain N. Tiwari, chief test pilot at Aircraft & Systems Testing Establishment, ASTE, Bengaluru, and his colleague wing commander Prajnal will be the first pilots of the airstrike wing to fly this fighter jet.
“They will form the nucleus of the pack of our pilots. The others will be chosen to join them and will be trained to fly the two squadrons of Tejas,” the sources added.
Sources in the ministry of defence said the overall budget for the upgraded mark II project could touch a whopping `25,000 crores, with half the amount spent on the design and development phase, and the rest for enhancing the production lines at Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and other facilities.