Bengaluru, March 23: The Indian Air Force (IAF) clarified that it never portrayed India’s home-grown fighter jet Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas in ‘poor light’ after a section of media reported on a probe into ‘failed bombing missions’ during Iron Fist exercise held in Pokhran ranges recently.
The IAF also clarified that its post-Iron Fist briefing did not single out Tejas, instead presented an overall review of the Fire Power Demonstration (FPD) held on March 18.
The negative publicity for Tejas, which is on course towards fulfilling the Final Operational Clearance (FOC), is said to have caught the attention of Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday, who was chairing a top-level review meeting on the fighter programme in Delhi.
* Missed target figures in Tejas review meeting
* 106 bombs hit targets, only 2 malfunctioned
* Only Jaguar LGB had a clean strike
* Everything can’t be spectacular; it’s not a movie
* Lack of awareness on fighter’s abilities
Full report, here: http://bit.ly/1PqOAva
