Mah: Tejas LCA hot air trails in Nagpur

Nagpur, May 30: The hot weather trial phase of the prestigious Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) was being conducted in Nagpur since yesterday.

The trial began with a ferry flight of Prototype Vehicle-3 (PV-3) from Bangalore to Nagpur, according to a Defence Ministry press release here.

Over the next week, the aircraft would be subjected to hot soaks on the ground and representative flight profiles at low and medium altitudes to check the functioning of all onboard systems under conditions of extreme heat prevailing in Nagpur, it said.

The successful completion of these trials would mark a significant step towards attainment of the all important Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) and subsequent induction into the Indian Air Force (IAF), the release said.

The ferry flight, which lasted for an hour, was described as ''flawless''. This was the first outstation ferry flight of Tejas with external drop tanks, which are intended to enhance the range/radius of the action of the aircraft, it said.

The fuel system functioned perfectly, paving the way for more such long-range ferry flights and outstation trials. The aircraft reached the destination with more than adequate fuel, the release added.

UNI