Rajnath Singh becomes first defence minister to fly indigenously-built Tejas fighter jet

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flew on board India’s indigenously-built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas in Bengaluru, Karnataka on September 19.

Singh is now the first defence minister to fly on board the LCA.

After the 30-minute sortie, Singh said that it was “very smooth and comfortable.”

“I was enjoying. I want to congratulate HAL, DRDO and several concerned agencies. We have reached a level where we can export fighter planes across the world,” he added.

Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari, who flew along with Singh said that the defence minister “was very happy with flying quality of the aircraft” and that they “went close to Mach 1 -- the speed of sound”.

Before the flight, he was briefed about Tejas’ functioning at the airport.

A Defence Ministry official on September 18 had said the minister is "taking a sortie" in order to boost the morale of officers who have been involved in the development of "indigenously-made Tejas".

"It will also boost the morale of IAF pilots who are flying these aircraft. The minister will be briefed by IAF officers before taking a sortie on Thursday," he added.

Flying on ‘Tejas’, an Indigenous Light Combat Aircraft from Bengaluru’s HAL Airport was an amazing and exhilarating experience.

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Tejas is a multi-role fighter with several critical capabilities. It is meant to strengthen India’s air defence capabilities. pic.twitter.com/jT95afb0O7

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) September 19, 2019

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already inducted a batch of Tejas aircraft. The naval version of the LCA is currently in the development stage.

Recently in Goa, Tejas had successfully carried out an "arrested landing", a key performance demonstrating its ability to land on board an aircraft carrier, making it a major milestone in development of the naval variant of the fighter jet.

Singh is also scheduled to attend an exhibition of products of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru later on September 19, news agency PTI has reported.

Initially, the IAF had placed an order with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 40 Tejas aircraft. In 2018, the IAF issued a request for proposal (RFP) to HAL for procurement of another batch of 83 Tejas at a cost of over Rs 50,000 crore.

(With inputs from PTI)