Tejas, a milestone in India’s self-reliant manufacturing and symbol of a step ahead to achieve strong defence strength. The aircraft is known for its performance and advancement in the field of technical manufacturing. It was appreciated by people during Bahrain International Air Show 2015, where Tejas made India proud by its fantastic performance.
Now, going to some other aspects and key points of Tejas, recently Sri Lanka has shown its Interest in India’s indigenously developed HAL Tejas aircraft. The Sri Lankan government has some key relations with the Indian government. The offer is successively made to overcome Pakistan’s stand to sell JF-17 to Sri Lanka, which was developed by Pakistan and China. Both the nations have given their proposal to the island nation. Pakistan, which is planning to replace its Kfirs (of Israel) and MIG 27, which are old enough to be changed to maintain the power on the ground and skies. Earlier, the news of Sri Lankan air force ordering a squadron of JF-17 was surfaced, but the authority itself denies the rumours.
Tejas has shown its best performance in Bahrain International Air show 2016. Pakistan’s JF-17 also showed its moves in the show. Now, turning to the comparison between the two aircraft, India’s Tejas has Kaveri engine and JF-17 has Klimov engine. The software of the jets is also different. Kaveri is General Engines 404, while JF-17 has got Turbofan engine type. Comparing the dimensions, the length of JF-17 is 2 meters more than Tejas and the wingspan is also wider than Tejas. But when it comes to speed, Tejas is faster than JF-17, but the range of Tejas is shorter than JF-17. The aim of production of both the aircraft is to phase out old and aging aircraft of the nations.
Owing to the current requirements, Indian air force is planning to acquire about 120 aircraft, out of which 100 have major changes in their radar, air strike and mid-air fueling functions. The naval version of the aircraft is also under production and DRDO is focusing on more powerful engine. Key points about HAL Tejas are as follows:
- It is a multi-role light combat aircraft.
- Indigenously developed by India
- Navy and trainer variants are also in the queue
- Need high maneuver during flight
- Maximum speed – 1.6-1.8 Mach
- Single-seated, single engine, light weighted
- 5 generation, Supersonic aircraft
- Engine name – Kaveri
- Top speed – 2025 km/h, range 850 kms
Tejas is a perfect match to replace India’s aging aircrafts bought from Soviet. While some other projects like 5th generation aircraft AMCA, will add more muscles to the Indian air forces. Rafale deal is also reported to be at its climax point and further LCH’s induction in the future will be another milestone in the manufacturing field.
