I just wonder from where people get these ideas from,,,,,
"Mk1 and Mk1A will be point defence fighters. They will not be mandated to cross borders. Once MWF comes into the scene they will be posted in bases deeper in the hinterland rather than those closer to the border "
"Limited range and space for avionics and upgrade. Thrust issue and wvr fight capability and aerodynamics need to be refined. "
just read the following piece , which rebuts such fiction based claims,
delhidefencereview.com
"For the purposes of the same, we will compare the Tejas Mk1 (40 on order, with 17 delivered) and Mk1A (83 units to be ordered soon) with the Gripen C/D and the F-16 IN. It should be noted that the Gripen E/F will not be available before 2023 at the earliest. By that time, India’s Medium Weight Fighter (MWF) or Tejas Mk2 is expected to take to the skies and
will be comparable to the Gripen E/F in just about every aspect. "
Thats the reason for just 83 tejas mk1A orders,
IAF expects MK2 by the end of 83 tejas mk1A order completion.
"The endurance of an aircraft is determined by four primary factors, the fuel fraction, the lift-to drag ratio, the specific fuel consumption of the engine and the mission profile. The fuel fraction is simply the fraction of the aircraft’s weight covered by fuel. "
Tejas mk1 compares well with its global peers in this fuel fraction aspect, which determines the combat range and endurance of fighters.
"The Tejas regularly flies non-stop between Bengaluru and Jodhpur & Bengaluru and Jaisalmer for various trials and exercises.
For example, flying between Bengaluru and Jaisalmer with two 1200 litre (l) drop tanks, the aircraft lands with 800 kg of fuel still onboard even after flying for 2.5 hours!
In fact, these flights are regularly done at 28,000 feet (because of air traffic regulations) instead of 35,000 feet where the endurance will be even greater.
Taking all these aspects into account it is easy to see why the endurance of the Tejas Mk1 and Mk1A is above 3 hours, pretty much like that of the Gripen C/D and the F-16, with whom it is being compared. With CFTs, the F-16IN can fly longer for about 4 hours. "
above photo gives tejas payload with 3.5 tons,
tejas payload with 4.05 tons,
"Now, how is this payload capability calculated? The designers simply take the maximum take off weight (MTOW) of the Tejas Mk1 which is about 14.1 t and subtract its clean takeoff weight (i.e. full internal fuel and no payload) of 9.8 t from the former. This gives a payload capacity of approximately 4.3 ton. "
above snap of tejas in Leh hot and high trials,
"On the other hand, one of the quintessential operational requirements for Indian borders is the ability to operate from high altitude airfields during hot summers.
‘Hot and high’ conditions severely impede any aircraft’s lift generation capability and thereby payload capacity. This is especially true of fighter aircraft with small wings. Image (
https://i2.wp.com/delhidefencereview.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/image-3.png?w=696)
shows,
the Tejas being prepared for flight during hot weather trials at Leh Airfield, which is at an altitude of 10,682 feet above mean sea level,
with a payload of about 3.2 t. Once again, bear in mind that this is a test aircraft with 300 kg of extra instrumentation onboard.
Forget the two fighter aircraft it is being compared to, taking off with 3.5 t of payload during summer at Leh is near the what twin-engined medium-weight fighter can accomplish, while operating in similar conditions.
This is not surprising because the wing area of the Tejas is comparable to that of medium weight fighters."
read this article fully to know the facts about tejas ,
delhidefencereview.com
They literally cut an aluminium sheet with a cutter and riveted it below. The sheer crudeness of the structural design makes me bang my head
