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| The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas India |
International Military - India's light fighter jet, namely the Tejas, is being discussed after it was reported that it would be bought by Malaysia. On Friday, August 5, 2022, India's Defense Minister, Ajay Bhatt, claimed that Malaysia was in agreement to buy 18 Tejas fighters.
Apart from Malaysia, Ajay Bhatt claims that a number of countries are interested in proposing to the Tejas fighter. Quoted from Reuters, Jay Bhat told lawmakers that other countries that had shown interest in LCA aircraft were Argentina, Australia, Egypt, the US, Indonesia and the Philippines. Seeing the enthusiasm of the various countries. Actually, how good is this fighter plane?
Getting to know the Tejas fighter
The Tejas fighter is a fourth generation delta wing supersonic light fighter aircraft made by HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited). Tejas is the first fighter aircraft made in India. The name Tejas is taken from the Sanskrit language which means light.
Quoted from Fighter Planes, the Tejas is called the smallest, lightest, and smallest multi-role fighter in the world. Defense expert Qamar Agha also explained what are the advantages of this Tejas fighter.
One of them is its light weight. Called much lighter than the Sukhoi. Although light, the Tejas fighter is capable of carrying a load of 8-9 tons. In addition, this aircraft is also capable of carrying as many weapons as Sukhoi. Speed is also an advantage of the Tejas fighter.
Quoted from the India Times, Qamar Agha said "The Tejas is fully capable of carrying a load of eight to nine tons. It can fly with as many weapons and missiles as the Sukhoi, which is heavier," he said. Its biggest advantage is its speed. Despite its light weight, its speed is unmatched, flying as fast as the speed of sound, i.e. Mach 1.6 to 1.8, rising at an altitude of 52,000 feet.
Some of the other advantages of the Tejas fighter aircraft is the presence of an active radar that is electronically scanned for critical operations capability. Tejas fighter planes can be refueled in the air and ready to fight again.
However, for the price, the Tejas Mark 1-A fighter is certainly more expensive than the Sukhoi-30 MKI. Qamar Agha added "The Tejas Mark-1A is also more expensive than the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter because a lot of the latest equipment has been added to it, for example, the radar has been developed in Israel. In addition, this aircraft also has domestic development.
The Tejas fighter made its first flight in January 2001. It was inducted into the Indian Air Force squadron in 2016.