US Air Force chief flies in Tejas

Jodhpur: The US Air Force Chief, General David L. Goldfein, flew a sortie in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas on Saturday at the IAF station here in Rajasthan.

He was accompanied on the 40-minute-long sortie by Air Vice Marshal A.P. Singh.

Gen. Goldfein, along with General Terrence O'Shaughnessy, Commander of the US Pacific Air Force, arrived in India on Thursday, on a visit to boost defence ties between the two nations.

He was accorded a Guard of Honour at the South Block on Thursday. He also met his counterpart, Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa, and held bilateral discussions.

The US Air Force chief is the first foreign military chief to fly in the indigenous LCA, a single-seat, single-jet engine, multi-role light fighter, which is being pitched as the replacement of the ageing MIG-21 aircraft.

Gen. Goldfein tweeted that he looked forward to "deepening the relationship between our two air forces".

Indigenously developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency, and produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Tejas, a fourth generation aircraft, can fly at 1,350 km per hour, with a payload capacity of 4,000 kg.

In November 2017, Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen flew in a Tejas jet.