India’s indigenously developed light fighter, the TEJAS Mk-1A has attained new domestic content milestones. In a first for an Indian fighter programme, the first rear fuselage produced by an Indian private sector firm for the TEJAS Mk-1A, was delivered to state-owned airframer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) this month.
Manufactured by Alpha Tocol Engineering Services Private Ltd, the rear fuselage supports the tail section and its associated components. HAL has placed orders with other Indian private companies such as L&T, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), VEM Technologies and Lakshmi Mission Works (LMW) to support major modules for its contract of 83 TEJAS Mk-1As.
The state-owned airframer has already completed the production of 12 TEJAS Mk-1A rear fuselages, which are on the aircraft in the manufacturing line.
The designers of the TEJAS, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) announced this week, a successful test-launch of the homegrown ASTRA Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM) from a TEJAS Mk-1 prototype “The successful test-firing is a significant milestone towards the induction of LCA AF MK1A variant,” India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced, adding that, ‘test-firing successfully demonstrated the direct hit of the missile on flying target.’ The ASTRA BVRAAM has a quoted range of over 100 km.
Earlier in March, the Defence Bio-Engineering & Electro Medical Laboratory (DEBEL), a Bengaluru-based lab under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), announced that it had successfully conducted high-altitude trials of an Indigenous On-Board Oxygen Generating System (OBOGS)-based Integrated Life Support System (ILSS) on a TEJAS prototype aircraft. The system can also be adapted for use in MiG-29K and other aircraft appropriate modifications. The OBOGS-based ILSS generates and regulates breathable oxygen for pilots during flight and eliminates the dependence on traditional liquid oxygen cylinder-based systems.
“Performance evaluations covered critical aspects such as oxygen concentration, demand breathing, availability of 100% oxygen, aerobatic maneuvers at required altitudes for full functional testing of Anti – G-valve, Breathing Oxygen System (BOS) On during taxying, take-off, cruise, G-turns and rejoin approach & landing,” the Indian MoD has stated.
In addition to the OBOGS, the ILSS integrates ten Line Replaceable Units (LRU), including the Low-Pressure Breathing Regulator, BOS, Emergency Oxygen System, Oxygen Sensor, Anti-G valve, etc. The Indian private sector firm L&T, which is a development and production partner in the programme is also manufacturing the systems.
India’s TEJAS programme is now featuring a growing quantity of indigenously developed systems, which is likely to enable accelerated production of the aircraft and also lower its life cycle costs. The orders from the programme to Indian domestic firms, will also increase the capability of the nation’s aerospace and defence manufacturing ecosystem.
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