LCA-Naval completes successful supersonic flight

Courtesy Livefistdefense.com

Without much fanfare and circus, LCA-N has just completed its maiden supersonic sortie.
It was so quietly done that most people missed the news and only now some information is appearing.

It flew at Mach1.1 with another Tejas from IAF chasing it, this is a great achievement for the STOBAR version of LCA-N because after 2012 it was going through a redesign of its landing gear.

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LCA Tejas Mk-II Prototype Hitting The Skies Near You By 2014

Courtsey Idrw.org

News coming from HAL reveal that first prototype of the LCA Tejas Mk.2 may be unveiled for the world in 2014.

At present HAL is looking to install a solid dependable line for various units of this craft. The following statement gives us a hint of their goal.

“HAL-ARDC is taking up for development and qualification of certain LRUs required for catering to LCA-Mark 2 version. The first prototype aircraft is slated for built during 2013-14, while series production(s) are planned for induction to fleet which is stated to be taken up in two phases commencing from 2016 onwards.”

Even though work seems to have begun on a war footing by getting a metal mockup ready and they have also floated numerous contracts for various plane parts like composites etc yet the author is a bit skeptical about the HAL's capability to stick to the time line. Not only that but 2014 is also the year in which MK-I is supposed to get operational clearance. Looking at HAL's previous abysmal record this project looks like another one for the history books.

LCA NP-1 Coming To A Sky Near You This July

The maiden flight of the naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will take to the skies in July, exactly a year after it rolled out from the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL’s) Aircraft Research and Design Centre hangar in Bangalore.

“We would be conducting the first flight of the LCA Naval Prototype-1 (NP1) – a trainer aircraft -- in July. The aircraft is currently undergoing a series of ground tests, and preparations are on for the flight certification which is mandatory before the first flight,” said Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief controller R&D (Aeronautics and Service Interaction), Prahlada.

He said all agencies involved in the programme, like the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), HAL and the certifying agencies including Center for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC) and Director General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA), are extremely cautious about ensuring that the first flight is carried out without any hassles. “Being the first flight of the LCA naval programme we are extremely careful. We want to ensure that everything is put in place before the first flight and that the programme is as successful as the Indian Air Force (IAF) version which has had no accidents since it started flight tests on January 4, 2001,” he said.

The LCA’s IAF version has an impeccable record of completing over 1,600 flights without any incidents. The LCA NP-1 is different from its IAF counterpart. It has a new, stronger and longer landing gear, an arrester hook for ship deck landing, front fuselage droop for better over-the-nose vision to facilitate landing on aircraft carriers, an additional control surface to reduce carrier landing speed and consequential changes in various systems.

The LCA NP1 will fly with a GE-F404-IN20 engine and is specifically designed for ski jump take off and arrested landing, with high landing loads compared to its IAF counterpart.
The Navy has placed an order for six LCA Navy aircraft and is expected to replace the depleting Sea Harrier squadron. The LCA Naval variants will operate alongside the MiG-29Ks by 2014.

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