By Anantha Krishnan M
The last Light Combat Aircraft Tejas Mk1 fighter from the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) block has flown out of the hangars of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
And most significantly, it (SP-16; SP stands for Series Production) flew on the wings made by Larson & Tourbo (L&T). This is a major step in HAL’s efforts to outsource Tejas parts to the private industries, in line with the Make in India mandate.
The Flying Daggers are expected to have the full quota of 16 IOC Tejas Mk1 fighters within a month.
The front fuselage of SP-21 is in the advance stages with the mid-air refuelling probe requirement installed on it. The central fuselage too is in an advance stage and all the three fuselages are expected to be ready by end of April this year.
HAL now says SP-21 will roll out by the end of this year. The entire 16 FOC fighters will be delivered to IAF during 2019-2021 – which again accounts for eight aircraft per year.
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