LCA TEJAS MK1 & MK1A: News and Discussion

[MirageBlue]

OKAY...i want to put to rest some Qs of mine, which might be old ones...
1. why does HAL website show LCA radius of action to be 300km while gripen-C with equal internal fuel shows 800 km? if false, whats the approx combat radius then for LCA?
2. is Tejas' max G tolerance really 9G?
3. is tejas mk1 as capable in dogfight as the mirage 2000s, J10Cs and F16s?
4. can the IOC fighters be upgraded to FOC config?
5. lastly, how many FOC fighters are left to be inducted?

Just FYI- the combat radius of an F-16 is not more than 350 NM. Of course that depends on the configuration, the number of weapons and drop tanks being carried, etc. There is no one number that is applicable.

And as mentioned by Grp Cpt HV Thakur, the combat radius of a Tejas Mk1 is greater than that of the Jaguar, which was bought as "Deep Penetration Strike Aircraft". That obviously meant it had to have adequate range to penetrate deep into enemy airspace, drop it's ordnance and then egress out as fast as possible, almost all of which was at lo-lo-lo mission profile, except when they'd pull up to drop the bombs.

 

[THESIS THORON]

But the structure itself is rated to withstand upto 13Gs.

yes this is what I was trying to say that there are 2 g-limits

 

[arnab]

yes this is what I was trying to say that there are 2 g-limits

ADA website says max g tollerance og LCA is 9...

 

[IndianHawk]

 

[IndianHawk]

OKAY...i want to put to rest some Qs of mine, which might be old ones...
1. why does HAL website show LCA radius of action to be 300km while gripen-C with equal internal fuel shows 800 km? if false, whats the approx combat radius then for LCA?
2. is Tejas' max G tolerance really 9G?
3. is tejas mk1 as capable in dogfight as the mirage 2000s, J10Cs and F16s?
4. can the IOC fighters be upgraded to FOC config?
5. lastly, how many FOC fighters are left to be inducted?

Others have answered most of your question.

All IOC will be upgraded to FOC and pretty soon . It mostly requires software upgrade beside fuel probe.

Iirc by the end of this fiscal year only trainers will remain all of which will be FoC including 10 from mk1a order .

Lca combat radius exceeds that of jaguar.

All these 300km 800km figures are meaningless unless missile , flying profile and payload are specified.

But lca match gripen c/d in all domains. Saab just bullshits a lot.

 

[Rajaraja Chola]

From latest info from Parliament, 24 Tejas has been delivered. Meaning 8 FOC ones and remaining 8 are in various stages of testing, taxi trials and outfitting. Infact the first 2 trainers are already on Jigs based on Tarmac talking episodes.
By May 2022 we should have all 31 Tejas Mk1 fighters with IAF. One I believe will be with HAL as test bed for mk1A.

 

[asianobserve]

Sir, that because

1. British territory is surrounded with water on all four sides, so they would put money to where the power is, that is at the sea.

2. Israel is a small state with backward facing waters so they know the direction that the enemy would hit them first. For long army was the key, but 1967 changed everything for them. Air power dominated because small land area.

3. India on the other hand is a peninsula and also has a significant land mass. For long have been army is still the major key player because the technologies weren't developed at that time and were not meant for fighting at sea. Its taken us almost two decades to bring up our Naval might.

Economies of scale works when you have an industrial complex build around the nation within close proximity. For long have been it has been the case the defense industries were few 20 years ago, private players were non-existent. But now things are rapidly changing. Air power is the dimension that everybody should reckon with, and it will be the key factor for the army to make peace with IAF to understand that where they can't reach the places in NE, Airforce can and will.

I think the branches prioritization for all emerging powers is:
1) Air force & Navy
2) Army

 

[lcafanboy]

 

[indiatester]

Where did the pakis get these pics?

 

[Love Charger]

Where did the pakis get these pics?

These bakrichods have got these from a paki photographer , who was there during Dubai airshow .
Ab ye chuchundar apna propaganda karenge

 

[Covfefe]

Where did the pakis get these pics?

First one looks some classic PSU seam welding job, poor finish but no structural risk as such. What's wrong with the other two? And what are these ganwaar ka bacchas worried about, they have some Pakistani Society of Suicide Bombers and Mechanical Engineers to set the manufacturing and quality acceptance standards?
On a separate note, this is why I wish HAL ends up being the assembler or system integrator only- their regular operations can hardly be(cannot be) improved. This kind of weld shouldn't have passed visual inspection only. Pretty sure that some xray based cracks and crevice identification must be used before it's acceptance by the Air force.

 

[indiatester]

First one looks some classic PSU seam welding job, poor finish but no structural risk as such. What's wrong with the other two? And what are these ganwaar ka bacchas worried about, they have some Pakistani Society of Suicide Bombers and Mechanical Engineers to set the manufacturing and quality acceptance standards?
On a separate note, this is why I wish HAL ends up being the assembler or system integrator only- their regular operations can hardly be(cannot be) improved. This kind of weld shouldn't have passed visual inspection only. Pretty sure that some xray based cracks and crevice identification must be used before it's acceptance by the Air force.

They are clutching at straws surely, but, it would be good to make sure it "looks" good too. A few of us have to send this to HAL PR department I guess.

 

[Covfefe]

They are clutching at straws surely, but, it would be good to make sure it "looks" good too. A few of us have to send this to HAL PR department I guess.

HAL, apart from its incompetence, also saves a few bucks on these things. They follow the Russian philosophy of rugged plane. I remember one podcast by Air Marshal Harish Masand in which he quotes the Mig29 designer stating the same when asked about why the surface of Russian jets looks so rugged (compared to smoother finish of the western jets). He said that it does the job and saves cost. The incremental benefit to such costs is minimum, hence, they avoid going for it

 

[Narasimh]

Where did the pakis get these pics?

FOC Tejas has pretty good build quality. It's not a systemic issue with each and every aircraft unlike the jf17 which has door hinges. That's more of a problem that they should worry about.

 

[Narasimh]

HAL, apart from its incompetence, also saves a few bucks on these things. They follow the Russian philosophy of rugged plane. I remember one podcast by Air Marshal Harish Masand in which he quotes the Mig29 designer stating the same when asked about why the surface of Russian jets looks so rugged (compared to smoother finish of the western jets). He said that it does the job and saves cost. The incremental benefit to such costs is minimum, hence, they avoid going for it

The rear fuselage is built by Alpha tocol, hal assembles it. It's possible some undulations due to some modifications or retrofitting or even initial fitment issues being done but it does not mean that it's an underlying quality assurance issue with all the manufactured aircrafts. So I don't think there is anything of concern here.

 

[HawkisRight]

 

[WolfPack86]

India places orders for French HAMMER missiles to enhance Tejas capabilities
With the ongoing conflict with China along the northern borders set to be prolonged, India has placed orders for HAMMER missiles from France to enhance the capabilities of its LCA Tejas fighter jets.

The acquisition will enable Tejas jets to take out enemy bunkers 70km away. The capability of taking out enemy targets from such ranges would allow the indigenous planes to carry out Balakot-like airstrikes with more accuracy and precision, top government sources told India Today.

The order for the HAMMER (Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range) missiles from France for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was placed under the emergency procurement powers as was done for the same missiles to be equipped on the Rafales. Under a major order, a few hundred missiles would be added to the Indian Air Force’s arsenal, sources said. “The HAMMER missiles from France will help in boosting our capabilities to take out targets in high-altitude areas, such as Eastern Ladakh,” a source said. The emergency powers have been given to the armed forces because of the ongoing conflict with the People’s Liberation Army of China in the Eastern Ladakh sector.

India has already activated two LCA Tejas fighter squadrons and is looking to get four more in a couple of years. They will replace the outgoing MiG-21 inventory. “LCA Tejas is a far better aircraft than the Chinese developed JF-17 and the HAMMER would take it ahead of their fleet in strike capabilities,” an official said.

India places orders for French HAMMER missiles to enhance Tejas capabilities

The acquisition of the French HAMMER missiles will enable Tejas jets to take out enemy bunkers 70km away.

www.indiatoday.in

 

[Aditya Ballal]

The rear fuselage is built by Alpha tocol, hal assembles it. It's possible some undulations due to some modifications or retrofitting or even initial fitment issues being done but it does not mean that it's an underlying quality assurance issue with all the manufactured aircrafts. So I don't think there is anything of concern here.

You are right, the aircraft in the picture is an IOC Tejas, and IOC ones have undergone several modifications inside and outside and this one may have been used for other tests too hence is showing signs stress on the outside like it’s been put through a lot due to great amount of testing and certification.
We’ve seen close up pictures of the FOC jets in AKM’s show, so we know the fit and finish of the FOC jets are smooth as butter.

 

[notaname]

Yay, we will get season 2 and 3 of Hamara Tejas.
Namaste folks What's your #NewYearsResolution? Here's mine. 1. Health/Fitness 2. Weight target 84 kg. (Now 91) 3. QF/SF at a Master's tournament 4. Formal launch of mentoring prog #DYL 5. Getting more #unsung / youngsters on radar

6. #HamaraTejas Season-2/3 @tarmakmedia

 

[indiatester]

HAL, apart from its incompetence, also saves a few bucks on these things. They follow the Russian philosophy of rugged plane. I remember one podcast by Air Marshal Harish Masand in which he quotes the Mig29 designer stating the same when asked about why the surface of Russian jets looks so rugged (compared to smoother finish of the western jets). He said that it does the job and saves cost. The incremental benefit to such costs is minimum, hence, they avoid going for it

I did not know that!
I hope they looked at the fuel efficiency too in smooth surface finish vs rugged finish.