Saga Of Tejas - Fighter Jet That Will Replace The Mighty MiG-21

The two MiG-21 squadrons will get the upgraded Tejas Mark 1A once they are phased out of active service in September this year.

Saga Of Tejas - Fighter Jet That Will Replace The Mighty MiG-21
The Tejas Mk1A took to the skies and was airborne for 15 minutes.

The mighty MiG-21, after serving the air force for 62 years, will retire and get replaced by the newer Tejas fighter jets. An idea conceived in the late 1980s, but several delays, developments and changes in technology pushed MiG-21's retirement.

There are only two squadrons - 36 MiG-21s in service. The No. 3 Squadron, Cobras, and the No. 23 Squadron, Panthers, both at the Nal Air Base in Rajasthan, are homes of the remaining MiG-21 Bison. These squadrons will get the upgraded Tejas Mark 1A once the Soviet-era aircraft are phased out of active service in September this year.

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The Tejas fighter jets are with two squadrons of the Indian Air Force - No. 45, the Flying Daggers and No. 18, the Flying Bullets. An order for more Tejas MK1A has been placed with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, but has not yet been delivered, a delay even flagged by the chief of the IAF, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh.

The Tejas fighter jets are with two squadrons of the Indian Air Force

The Tejas fighter jets are with two squadrons of the Indian Air Force
Photo Credit: https://hal-india.co.in/

In 1983, the development of LCA was sanctioned, and the Centre constituted the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in 1984. Around Rs 560 crore were sanctioned for the programme, with the Centre giving a timeline of eight to 10 years to develop an aircraft that would eventually replace the MiG-21. The project was assessed to be completed by 2004, but even after 30 years, the Tejas, in full numbers, is yet to be inducted. But last year was significant in the LCA programme.

Tejas Mk1A Goes Airborne

On March 28 last year, Group Captain KK Venugopal (Retired), a test pilot, took the Tejas Mk1A to the skies and was airborne for 15 minutes. The sortie was the first successful flight of the MK1A version of the fighter jet.

Group Captain Sunit Krishna, a test pilot of the LCA Tejas Mk1, spoke to NDTV India and said, "With time, the technology has to be improved and have to be integrated. The Indian Air Force wanted new systems to be integrated into the Tejas so that it could be in service for the next three decades."

"The aircraft might look similar from the outside, but new electronics, processors, display systems, and the hardware of fly-by-wire systems have been integrated...To list out, it has new AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, air-to-ground, air-to-air modes and self-protection jammers, and the mission computer in MK1A is new and indigenous. The aircraft is future-ready," Group Captain Krishna said.

Read more: Explained: How New Tejas Fighter Jet Variant Is Different From Its Predecessor

The design of an aircraft poses limitations to integrating new systems. The HAL has incorporated the latest technology with slight modifications in the design to give a newer aircraft.

The new variant will have almost 50 per cent more indigenous content than its predecessor. The MK1A version will have 40 more improvements than the previous one. The Tejas Mk1A will have the advanced Israel EL/M-2025 AESA Radar. It will soon be replaced by the Uttam AESA Radar, indigenously developed by Bharat Electronics Limited and HAL.

Uttam is a fully engineered, qualified and deployable radar

Uttam is a fully engineered, qualified and deployable radar

The Uttam Radar can track multiple targets and reportedly has a range of more than 200 km to give the aircraft a 360-degree scanned view of its surroundings. It will be used in the later variants like Tejas Mk2 and the Twin Engine Deck-Based Fighters (TEDBF).

The HAL has maintained a commonality between the Mk1 and Mk1A variants. The new version will have enhanced situational awareness with a slightly bigger canopy and changes in the jet aerodynamics to improve its manoeuvrability.

Mk1A will have around nine hard points on its underbelly to carry various types of weaponry like the Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles, Air-to-Air/Ground missiles, and Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air missiles (ASRAAM). External self-protection jammer pods will allow the aircraft to engage in electronic warfare.

An indigenously developed digital fly-by-wire flight control computer was integrated into the Tejas jet. Fly-by-wire systems in aircraft replace mechanical flight controls with an electronic interface

"In a significant development towards Tejas Mk1A programme, the digital fly-by-wire flight control computer (DFCC) was integrated into prototype LSP7 and successfully flown on February 19," the defence ministry said.

"The Tejas Mk1A will have an advanced electronic RADAR, warfare and communication systems, additional combat capability and improved maintenance features," HAL said.

The new Electronic Warfare Suite consists of a Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) system & Advanced Self Protection Jammer (ASPJ) pod will be installed into MK1A. The purpose of the system is to protect the aircraft against ground-based acquisition radars, fire control radars, anti-aircraft artillery and airborne multimode radars.

The Indian Air Force has ordered 83 Tejas Mk1A variants in a Rs 36,468 crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. In November 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council cleared the project to acquire 97 more Tejas jets for the Indian Air Force. The Tejas are powered by American General Electric's F-404 engines, but the firm is running behind schedule by two years. "We are working with our partner HAL and suppliers to resolve constraints and deliver F404-IN20 engines for the LCA Mk1 programme," Financial Express reported, quoting GE Aerospace.

The Tejas Saga - Crash Course On LCA's History

Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar, an exceptional fighter pilot and former director ADA, has chronicled the journey of Tejas, giving one of the most detailed accounts of the fighter aircraft's journey. Air Marshal Rajkumar, in his book, 'The Tejas Saga', writes that the LCA programme commenced in 1969 when then Defence Minister C Subramaniam recommended India should develop a roadmap in aeronautics and build an indigenous fighter jet, helicopter and cargo aircraft. The committee felt that self-reliance in aviation was needed.

However, the India-Pakistan war in 1971 and sanctions post the Pokhran-1 nuclear test pushed the programme, along with political changes in India. Though the HF-24, also known as Marut, was developed by HAL in the 1960s but the underpowered fighter jet, which was intended to be a supersonic fighter, became obsolete by the 1980s, and the age of fourth-generation fighters that have speed, agility, better avionics and guided weapons had begun.

LCA Becomes Tejas

In January 2001, the Technology Demonstrator-1 (TD-1) was airborne for the first time, a significant moment in India's fighter aviation history. However, the scheduled date of completion was December 1996. The LCA programme was rechristened as 'Tejas'. But the delays are not entirely due to bureaucratic hurdles but also because of evolving technology.

The LCA programme was rechristened as Tejas in 2001 after the first test flight

The LCA programme was rechristened as 'Tejas' in 2001 after the first test flight
Photo Credit: Facebook.com/IADN Centre

It was initially planned to phase out MIG-21s in the 1990s once Tejas is ready, but HAL had experience of developing Marut, an older generation aircraft, and building a Tejas to compete with modern fighters like the MiG-29, Mirages meant jumping from 1st generation Marut to 4th generation Tejas.

The delay in executing the LCA project is often credited to the development of Multi Mode Radar, Flight control system, Digital Electronic Engine Control, integration of Kaveri engine on LCA, and the up-gradation of MiG-Bis aircraft. The import of Su-30 MKI aircraft to cover the shortfall in fighter aircraft. This was even highlighted in the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in 1999. The report said the delays did impact the IAF's operational preparedness.

Further delays meant the aircraft had to be upgraded to 4+ generation multirole fighter aircraft, which meant pole vaulting from knowledge and experience of building a 1st generation aircraft to the latest technology. The TD-1, which was airborne, was much different from the Tejas in service.

Despite delays, engineers at the Aeronautical Development Agency (HAL), DRDO, and HAL have worked to build a purely indigenous supersonic fighter jet.

The ADA had proposed an indigenous jet fuel starter, gearbox, avionics software development and mechanical systems, development of the Carbon Fibre Composite (CFC) Wing, Multi-Mode Radar, etc. The sanctions placed by US on India in 1998 in the aftermath of the Pokhran-II nuclear tests, compelled engineers at ADA to develop the digital flight control system.

The Indian Air Force has a sanctioned squadron strength of 41, but only 31 squadrons are operational. The ageing fleet of the IAF means a further drop in numbers if Tejas is not delivered on time to replace Jaguars, MiG-29s, Mirage-2000s.

Regarding delays in the LCA project, a representative of the Air Force, who deposed before a Standing Committee on Defence (2022-2023), said, "We had made an aircraft before this. The last aircraft that we designed was Marut. So, after a gap of 30 years plus, we are now trying to make a fighter aircraft in-house. We took a giant leap."

"We could have gone for some middle-level or one-generation below aircraft. LCA is a four-plus generation aircraft. We could have gone for a third-generation aircraft with conventional controls and with all the rudimentary dials in old avionics, but we had to catch up with technology. I think it was a very good step taken, though we have taken much longer than we should have," the representative added.

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