Full-scale production of Tejas by next year: Parrikar

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday said full-scale production of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas will begin by next year and that other countries have shown interest in the plane.

"As per my primary report, it is appreciated by other countries who are interested... By the next year, we are starting full-scale production," he said at the NCC Republic Day camp in the national Capital.

Tejas, which had been in the making for over three decades, is taking part in the ongoing Bahrain International Airshow as the country hopes to explore potential export opportunities.

It is a single-engine, light-weight, highly agile, multi-role supersonic fighter plane. Tejas is a 4.5 generation aircraft with supersonic capability at all altitudes.

The Indian Air Force plans to acquire 120 Tejas aircraft, with 100 of them having some major modifications. It wants better radar, new electronic warfare suit, refueling capacity and improved missiles.

The training of IAF pilots on LCA has already commenced.

Though the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed a naval version of Tejas, the Navy is seeking a more powerful engine, besides other changes.

As per the production plan, six aircraft will be made this year (2015-16) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will subsequently scale it up to eight and 16 aircraft per year.

It is estimated that 20 aircraft will be built by 2017- 2018, to make the first squadron of the aircraft.

The LCA programme was initiated in 1983 to replace the ageing MiG-21s planes in IAF's combat fleet but has missed several deadlines due to various reasons.

As India aims to market Tejas, it will face competition from Pakistan's JF-17, built in collaboration with China. JF-17 is lightweight, single-engine, multi-role combat aircraft. 

The aircraft has already been placed in the open market and it was speculated that one of the Asian countries had evinced interest in the aircraft. However, Sri Lanka had recently denied reports that it had evinced interest in the Pakistani plane.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the recent attack on an IAF base at Pathankot, a committee is being set up by the government to review security at defence bases in the country based on the "risk factor". 

Parrikar said the government has also asked the officers commanding the bases to conduct a thorough security assessment and fix the loopholes, if any.

However, the Minister declined to give details about the likely composition of the committee, but said a notification in this regard should be out in a few days.

"A specific team is being made. Maybe in another week's time it will be active. It will visit (the bases) and look into priorities like the risk factor, sensitivity and assets. It will also talk to the local commanders," he said.

"As far as other defence installations are concerned, not just the Air Force, but all defence forces...whoever is in-charge. They have been told that they should make an assessment of every threat and take immediate measures to ensure that any weakness is blocked," he added.

Parrikar said the government's review of security measures will not put any roadblock to the ongoing probe being carried out by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the Pathankot attack. "Let them complete (their investigation) and we will do our analysis," he said.

Asked to elaborate on his comments about 'losing patience' after the Pathankot attack, the Defence Minister said: "Losing patience does not mean that you react instinctively. It means we are increasing our pro-active strength. It (the strategy) cannot be discussed in public."

Condemning the terror attack at a university in Pakistan, he said violence on civilians can never be justified. "Any attack or violence on civilians should be condemned. To kill a human in a violent way can never be justified. It's a sad thing," he said.

Parrikar also took a dig at Pakistan's withdrawal from the Bahrain Air Show. "As per my primary report, it (Light Combat Air Craft Tejas which is also participating in the show) is being appreciated by other countries who are interested. I also believe that other countries have withdrawn their participation," Parrikar said, referring to Pakistan's withdrawal of JF-17 aircraft from the show.