DRDO confident of meeting Op clearance deadline for Tejas

Aeronautical Development Agency, the DRDO lab, which has built Tejas, the indigenous light combat aircraft, in collaboration with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is confident that it will be able to adhere to the September, 2013, deadline for gaining Initial Operational Clearance 2 (IOC 2). The DRDO official spokesperson, Ravi Gupta in a written response to a questionnaire, said: ‘The action plan to complete the flight test activities to achieve the IOC-2 certification is in progress and reviewed on weekly target basis. Eight aircrafts are functional in flight Line to complete the flight tests. We will be able to achieve the deadline of end-September ’13 for IOC 2.’  The IAF had sought 1200-plus changes in the Limited Series Production (LSP) aircraft that received IOC 1 certification in January, 2011, as it was found wanting even in terms of the diluted air staff qualitative requirement (AQR). Now as Gupta informed:

‘The IAF had sought … improvements, mostly aiming at enhancing performance and reliability under extreme conditions. These included improvements in Pilot-Vehicle Interface, Brake Management System, Landing Gear, Fuel Systems, mid-air Escape systems and some aspects of Flight Control Laws. The IAF had also sought few design improvements for easier aircraft maintenance. Majority of improvements are implemented and incorporated in one of the LSP aircraft.’